£1.3m ‘affordable housing’ loan injection for Hjaltland
Peter JohnsonSocial housing in Shetland has received a boost of £1.3 million thanks to Scottish Government investment in charitable bonds. The money will go towards new homes to rent.
Issued by social investment charity Allia as part of its More Homes Scotland approach, the bonds provide loans to housing associations and allow the interest to be made immediately available as charitable donations.
A total of £1.3 million has been made available to Hjaltland Housing Associaton to build homes in Lerwick, Scalloway and Tingwall. The interest on this loan totalling £530,000 will be used by the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme for the construction of new social housing.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I’m sure this will be very welcome news for people in Shetland. The latest round of funding means that we have now invested a total of £70 million in nine charitable bonds, providing an innovative source of finance for housing associations to support the development of 935 homes for social and mid-market rent across the country.
“We have committed to deliver 50,000 new affordable homes during the term of this parliament and this is yet another important step towards this target.”
Hjaltland’s head of finance and corporate services Susan Gray said: “Hjaltland Housing Association is very pleased to have secured £1.325m of loan finance from the Scottish Government funded Allia bond programme. This ensures that our on-going development programme can continue to increase the supply of much needed affordable homes for families in Shetland.
“This particular new funding stream will assist in the development of additional rented properties in Tingwall, Scalloway and Lerwick. The innovative scheme has been straightforward to put in place and has minimised the up-front arrangement costs and security requirements of the loan.”
Allia’s director of impact finance Phil Caroe said: “Allia is proud to have worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to support the creation of over 900 affordable new homes across Scotland. The charitable bonds programme has been a great success story of using finance for social good, and we’re pleased to see that the Government’s leading example is now attracting interest from other parts of the UK.”
The Charitable Bonds model was developed by Allia, a Cambridge-based social investment charity, which manages the Scottish Government’s Charitable Bonds investments.
The bonds are part of More Homes Scotland, which is intended to support the increase in the supply of homes across all tenures.
Nine housing associations have benefited from Charitable Bond funding, covering Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Borders and the Northern Isles, and the Highlands and Lowlands.
Derick Tulloch
The Scottish Government, getting on with the day job
And not just in Shetland
http://www.housingexcellence.co.uk/news/20-increase-affordable-home-approvals-scotland-2016
George Dickson
A Scottish government injection of £1.3 million, controlled the S.I.C, and covering only Shetlands central belt. What a surprise.
George Dickson
Sorry, should read, “controlled by the S.I.C”.
ROBERT SIM
Presumably Hjaltland has to build accommodation where the demand is highest.
Ian Tinkler
If all is centred on Lerwick, with lousy transport links and no new house builds in rural areas, it is fairly obvious where housing demand will be. Add to that the threat to our rural school and the concentration of amenities to Lerwick it is little wonder all our rural communities are so threatened. Sadly, quite contrary to his many election promises, are Political Leader has done absolutely nothing for the Westside of Shetland since the last council election. His 2012 manifesto is online, it has proved, mostly, a complete work of fiction. That was very sad for those on the Westside. I invite Gary Robinson to state publicly why he has failed to honour so many of these pledges.
Ali Inkster
75% of demand is for outside Lerwick
Ian Tinkler
A total of £1.3 million has been made available to Hjaltland Housing Associaton to build homes in Lerwick, Scalloway and Tingwall. Typical, not a single house in a truly rural area. Westside of Shetland ignored again! Derick Tulloch, theSG/SNP day job in Shetland is an absolute disgrace. “An Audit Scotland report showed that Shetland had lost 23 per cent of its funding over the past seven years (£8 million over last 3 years alone), With more savage cuts to come from the Scottish Government.”. If you actually spent some time here, with your eyes open, you would know that.
Bjørg Elisabeth Thorn
No more excuses, please, as to why you are disregarding the needs of some families whose requirements are 4 and 5 bedrooms. The key word in the article, take note Hjaltland, throughout, is ‘FAMILIES’. Not single persons. Not couples. Families. Families being a group. Z group cannot fit into a single occupancy unit, therefore it is high time to turn your building programme’s attention to serve the needs of those you consistently exclude from every single new build you ficus your attention on. Please use this money wisely. Thank you.
ian tinkler
Gary Robinson, Election pledge/Promise 2012. ” I have supported the council’s innovative partnership with Hjaltland Housing Association to deliver more new homes . New-build in Lerwick must be matched in rural areas such as Walls and Aith where demand is strong.” Really Gary, where are these Westside homes?
Ali Inkster
A supposed £10 million repayment of the housing debt and another £25 million from our share of national spending yet we are needing loans to build houses?
Ali Inkster
That should be £15 million from our share of national funding.