Residents tried desperately to save an 80-year-old man after he was found lying in the street.
26.05.2022 - 16:53 / dailyrecord.co.uk
A long-term strategy to tackle the crippling housing shortage in West Lothian is to be drawn up by the council - and they are asking residents what they would like to see happen.
Despite a clamour by developers to build in West Lothian, new private homes do little to help those on the housing waiting list, which stays resolutely around the 10,000 mark.
When it comes to affordable homes only a fraction of those are supplied as part of major housing developments such as the 1,000 plus homes planned for Bangour, near Dechmont, or in the development areas of Winchburgh and Calderwood in the next few years.
As West Lothian nears completion of a ten year plan to build 3,000 affordable homes it is looking to draw up a new long term housing strategy and is seeking views of residents and landlords.
The strategy covers all tenures of housing - social rented, private rented and owner/occupied (private) houses.
Launching the questionnaire the council said: “This strategy will set out critical issues, priorities and actions for housing for the next five years. It considers key themes for housing, including homelessness prevention, new housing supply, house condition, place making and communities, and specialist housing provision.”
The council, as with all local authorities in Scotland, has to take cognisance of new demands on carbon emissions and other environmental measures introduced by Holyrood.
The development of the strategy will go before the Services for the Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel when it meets in June. This will be the first meeting of the new council administration’s housing committee.
The council is already tied into national schemes which govern issues such as homelessness, and these will also have to be
Residents tried desperately to save an 80-year-old man after he was found lying in the street.
NHS Tayside has confirmed that people will no longer have to book an appointment to visit the majority of hospital inpatients.
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Police have launched an urgent appeal to find a missing West Lothian man.
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