An attractive £8.1 million development of 71 much needed affordable homes in Arbroath has been opened by local MSP Graeme Dey.
Cairn Housing Association has worked in partnership with Angus Housing Association to help create 36 of the new homes at Railton Crescent.
The affordable development, comprised of one, two and three bedroom homes, was built by Persimmon Homes and supported by a £4,542,580 grant from the Scottish Government.
Mr Dey, who opened the new development alongside Cairn and Angus tenants and staff, said: “I was delighted to be asked to officially open this Angus Housing Association and Cairn Housing Association development of 71 homes, which has been delivered by Angus Housing Association and Persimmon Homes, taking advantage of substantial investment by the Scottish Government.
“The Scottish Government is committed to spending over £3.3 billion to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes, of which 35,000 will be for social rent, by March 2021, building on the achievement of exceeding its previous target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes by 2016.
“But Government can only achieve these targets with the accompanying real life benefits for people in partnership so I congratulate all concerned for this development.”
Work on the project began in October 2017 and demand for the 71 homes has proved very high.
Jason MacGilp, Chief Executive of Cairn, said: “We pride ourselves on providing great homes and services and we’re proud to have worked in partnership with Angus Housing Association to develop much needed affordable homes in the local area.
“Angus has a proven track record as a developer and detailed knowledge of the local market which has made for a great example of how partnership work like this project can be so effective.
“We always put our customers first so it was brilliant to see some of our new tenants at Railton Crescent officially open the development alongside Graeme Dey.
“Cairn is fully committed to building excellent, quality housing as part of our five year development plan to build 400 homes across Scotland by 2022/23 which will help meet the needs of communities across the country.”
The partnership work between Cairn and Angus Housing Associations has seen homes built across Angus, where there is a great need for affordable housing across the region.
Cairn provides the repairs and maintenance for the 36 properties while Angus Housing Association carries out tenancy management which includes tasks like property sign-ups and ensuring homes are filled.
Ron McArthur, Asset Manager at Angus Housing Association, said: “Angus Housing Association is delighted to be involved at the forefront of the development at Railton Crescent. Working closely with Cairn Housing Association and Persimmon Homes, this is an excellent example of how associations can jointly deliver high quality housing.
“One of the features of the development is the spacious internal living space standards and pleasant external surroundings. Our tenants deserve the best and we are determined that tenancies can be sustained in this pleasant, quite area.”
Cairn Housing Association has over 30 years’ experience of creating quality, affordable housing with a property portfolio of 3200 houses across 24 local authority areas.
It works closely in partnership with other housing associations to provide high quality affordable homes across Scotland.