A new public sector alliance has been created to accelerate the delivery of much-needed affordable homes for rent in the south east of Scotland by providing local authorities and housing associations with an online knowledge hub hosting freely-available home designs that utilise modern methods of construction. The South East Regional Delivery Alliance (SE-RDA) has been established by bringing together six councils - The City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian - supported by public sector infrastructure body, the Scottish Futures Trust.
To speed up delivery, the SE-RDA has built up a library of net-zero ready house and flat types that have been designed in collaboration with the house building industry and can be downloaded from the SE-RDA knowledge hub and shared with appointed contractors and design teams.
Property layouts range from a 1 bedroom flat up to a 4 bedroom house and can be customised in various configurations, with a number of designs incorporating wheelchair accessibility.
In addition, by bringing six local authorities together, a strong pipeline of proposed housing supply can be established, providing the construction sector with greater insight into expected future work.
Ryan Cossar, who leads support from the Scottish Futures Trust on the South East-Regional Delivery Alliance, explained:
“Collectively, we are providing local authorities and housing associations with the tools they need to get the construction of higher performing affordable homes underway quicker, with the SE-RDA front runner projects landing on site in around half the time compared to typical project delivery approaches.
“By using off-site manufacturing, construction quality can also be improved, time to build during the construction phase can be much more efficient, and completed homes require less energy for heating and hot water, leading to lower energy bills for residents.
“In addition, by bundling the six councils’ future housing projects, this has helped create improved efficiencies around procurement as well as a lower development costs.”
Speaking on behalf of the South-East Regional Delivery Alliance, Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Joint Committee Convener Jane Meagher said:
“Scotland is facing a national housing emergency, with too many people struggling to access safe, warm, and affordable homes.
“The creation of the knowledge hub is a crucial step forward – giving partners a single space to share resources, modern designs, and building on what works.
“By working together and learning from each other, we can strengthen our response to the housing emergency and accelerate the delivery of the affordable homes that we so urgently need.”
