Kilwinning’s newest councillor has revealed proposals that would see 46 new council houses built at St Michael’s Wynd, delivering a third phase of development that would finalise the former school site.
Labour’s Mary Hume has had the remainder of the St Michael’s site assessed by local authority officers who have advised that the remaining available land could accommodate 46 new homes, which would be a mix of two-to-four-bedroom general needs properties, amenity bungalows, and homes for wheelchair users.
Cllr Hume claims as of June 2024, Kilwinning’s proportionate share of housing demand was assessed as 494 families, 428 of whom already live in the town. A 46-home development at St Michael’s Wynd would only address less than 10 per cent of the assessed housing demand.
New figures obtained by North Ayrshire Labour recently revealed that the number of properties available for let in 2023-24 fell by 2.6 per cent. At the same time homelessness rose six per cent, resulting in over half of all housing allocations being made to homeless applicants.
The rise in homelessness also means that the number of properties used as temporary housing has increased from 160 to 250 since Covid, claim Labour.
Cllr Hume wants the 46 homes at St Michael’s Wynd to be included in the next Strategic Housing Investment Plan.
She said: “I have been approached by lots of families and I have been left frustrated with the clear lack of available housing. Some of my constituents are living in very desperate situations, and I find it unacceptable.
“Unless the council starts building new council houses in Kilwinning, nothing will change. With the support of my Labour colleagues in Kilwinning, I have set out a plan that would see 46 new homes built at St Michael’s Wynd. It would be a start, but we will still need many more homes if we are to tackle the town’s shortage of council housing.”
Labour Group leader Joe Cullinane said: “It was under Labour councils that the first two phases at St Michael’s Wynd were built. I now believe it is time to start work on the third phase.
“The council is in financial turmoil, after two-and-a-half years of financial mismanagement under the SNP. However, when we were in power, we understood that the Housing Revenue Account offered a route to deliver investment, regenerate sites and build much needed council housing, even in the face of central government cuts. With a bit of ambition, housing investment can be a route to much-needed investment again.”
Cabinet Member for Communities, Housing & the Islands, SNP cllr Alan Hill, said: “All councillors care deeply about their own wards and we are all keen to seek council house projects.
“Our Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) however is designed by officers following extensive discussion and consultation to ensure that we achieve the best programme for everyone in North Ayrshire.
“Every councillor can demand more housing in their own area but the SHIP is a fairer process, used by the previous Labour administrations, that is designed to take into account a number of factors including demand, availability of sites, funding etc and tries to distribute resources fairly.
“Since taking power in 2007, the SNP government had funded more affordable housing per head of population than any other part of the UK. However last year’s Westminster budget statement cut the available Capital Funding to the Scottish Government by a shocking £484m, meaning less money being available for housing.
“I had hoped that an incoming Labour Government would listen to people like Cllr Hume and reverse Tory spending cuts but that hasn’t happened. Instead Labour are committed to continuing Tory spending restrictions and austerity.
“Perhaps, if Labour councillors truly want to see an improvement in the housing stock and infrastructure in Kilwinning, they might want to put considerably more effort into lobbying their own party leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
“Many people voted Labour in the hope of seeing a change after so many years of brutal Tory austerity. Labour campaigned for change but what do we get, continuing Tory austerity and cuts.
“Locally labour councillors demand that we spend money that we don’t have. It’s a master class in double speak that George Orwell himself would be proud of.”
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