Item 10 – WDC Affordable Housing Supply Delivery Programme
West Dunbartonshire Council · 13 May 2026
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 13 May 2026 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer, Housing Housing and Communities Committee: 13th May 2026 Subject: More Homes West Dunbartonshire – West Dunbartonshire Council Affordable Housing Supply Delivery Programme 1. Purpose 1.1 This purpose of this report is to provide the Housing and Communities Committee an update on progress with West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme which oversees the delivery of the Council’s new home building programme. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Housing and Communities Committee: (i) Notes the content of the report and the progress made to date in the delivery of the Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach include the successful award nominations for the Willox Court and Mount Pleasant developments; (ii) Notes the successful completion of the new Willox Court development in February 2026; (iii) Invite the Chief Officer, Housing, to carry out the procurement of, and to subsequently award, the contract up to the budgeted costs for the projects at Gray Street and 28 Bridge Street, Alexandria; (iv) Note the lifting of the temporary letting suspension at Young Street sheltered housing complex. And (v) Notes the new resource planning allocations for West Dunbartonshire for the next four years 3. Background 3.1 In West Dunbartonshire the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) is delivered through a More Homes West Dunbartonshire strategic approach which has successfully delivered over one thousand new affordable homes in West Dunbartonshire and includes the Council’s own new home building programme. 3.2 The Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2026-2031, outlining West Dunbartonshire’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme through the More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach was approved by the Housing and ITEM 10
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Communities Committee in November 2025. The SHIP outline plans to contribute to meet the Council Administration’s aim of delivering 2500 new affordable and social rented homes over the 10-year period 2022-2032. 4. Main Issues More Homes West Dunbartonshire - Delivery Programme 4.1 Building new affordable homes has an important role to play in revitalising local economies and assisting with post-pandemic and economic recovery plans, negating the impacts of the current cost of living crisis and combatting poverty principally child and fuel poverty. It is also clear that the need for affordable homes has and will increase in the current ongoing economic environment. 4.2 In July 2025, Shelter published its study The Social Value of New Social Housing in Scotland The research report’s key conclusion is that it has shown that new social housing is driving improvements in social, economic and health outcomes for its residents, and where this impact is achieved, there is huge capacity for significant preventative savings to wider society. 4.3 The Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach is an ambitious plan that aims to continue the positive momentum of the delivery of much needed Council homes in West Dunbartonshire and will significantly assist the Council’s aim to deliver 2500 new social and affordable homes by 2032. 4.4 As the largest affordable housing developer in West Dunbartonshire, the Council has identified a number of development sites for new council homes to address existing and new housing need. The design of these homes provides sustainable homes using innovative technology and delivering on our low carbon ambitions including Passivhaus and other net zero carbon opportunities. We anticipate the new homes delivered by the Council will have a minimum lifespan of beyond 100 years. 4.5 The Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach has evidenced strong support from council tenants and is highlighted as one of the top two key future spending priority areas for tenants through the comprehensive tenant satisfaction survey reported to the Housing and Communities Committee in February 2025. 4.6 The Council’s recent completed developments at Mount Pleasant and Willox Court have both been shortlisted for the Affordable Housing Development of the Year Award in the Scottish Housing Awards which will be announced in late May 2026, both have also been shortlisted in the Scottish Home Awards and the winners will be announced in June 2026. This follows the Clydebank East development being awarded the prestigious Herald Property Awards - Affordable Housing Development of the Year Award late last year. 4.7 As part of our ongoing monitoring of the impact of the completed housing developments, the three most recent mainstream completions (Clydebank
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East/Mount Pleasant and Pappert) have significantly contributed to meeting housing need within West Dunbartonshire communities and combined have contributed to lifting 129 children out of homelessness and into a secure tenancy through initial and secondary allocations through the transfer led approach. The reduction in children experiencing homelessness is a key strategic objective of the Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan. 4.8 The approved Strategic Housing Investment Plan and HRA Capital Investment Plan outlined the plans the Council have for meeting their new build ambitions. An update on each development site is provided below: - Willox Park Phase 1, Doveholm, Dumbarton Housing Mix This development was completed on the 9th February 2026. Housing have been assisting in helping the tenants to settle into their new homes. Willox Park Phase 2 Feasibility studies for the site are showing an increased site capacity of 22 new homes from 21 homes The current proposed housing mix is highlighted below: - McTaggart Construction have been awarded the design and build contract which will also include the demolition of the existing homes following completion of Phase 1. All homes are being designed to housing for varying needs standards and dementia friendly principles to encourage ageing in place and inclusive living. Phase 2 is part of the wider housing regeneration plans for the Willox Park area and priority to the new homes in Phase 2 will be given to the tenants within Phase 1 in the first instance. There was a consultation exercise with tenants which took place in April 2026. Following on from this, the design team are currently working towards the House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Flat 2bed/3person Net Zero 2 Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 15 House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Bungalow 1bed/2person Net Zero 14 Bungalow 1bed/2person w/c Net Zero 2 Cottage Flat 1bed/2person UF Net Zero 3 Cottage Flat 1bed/2person LF Net Zero 3
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demolition of the Willox Park stock, the building warrant and planning submission for phase 2 of the project. Bonhill Gap Site Strategy The 28 units of housing at Braehead (17 homes) and Campbell Street (11 homes) went on site in August 2025 and are scheduled to complete within a 56-week period. Work has progressed well and we are anticipating completions in June for the Braehead site and July for the Campbell Street site. The pre-start meeting between The Council and JR Group (contractor) for the O’Hare gap site was held on 10th March. JR Group are developing the technical design and programme. The housing mix of the full Bonhill Gap Site development programme is highlighted in the table below and will include 8 large family homes and 16x 1- bedroom flats to meet the key identified need: - Bank Street, Alexandria The development will consist of twenty-two sheltered/amenity housing units in partnership with the HSCP. A site start was achieved in October 2025 and is scheduled for completion in late January 2027. House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Flat 1bed/2person w/c Net Zero 22 Communal Room Net Zero 1 Staff Office Net Zero 1 As reported to the August Housing and Communities Committee the tender return was some £2.4m below the initial estimated cost. This development as with the development at Willox Park, involved the tenants at Gray Street who have been consulted throughout the design process and will be assisted to make the transition as smooth as possible. The estimated completion date is 1st April 2027 House Size Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes 1bed wheelchair Net Zero 4 1 bed general needs Net Zero 16 2 bed wheelchair Net Zero 3 3 bed general needs Net Zero 3 4 bed general needs Net Zero 2 5 bed general needs Net Zero 4 7 bed general needs Net Zero 2
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Gray Street Regeneration As the development at Bank Street will replace the current sheltered housing accommodation at Gray Street, we have carried out both feasibility and viability assessments for the future Gray Street regeneration site. The optimum housing mix aligns with the Council’s strategic housing objectives of providing family housing and housing for the elderly, the project will also have provision for 2 family sized wheelchair homes and is outlined below which will see the delivery of 15 new council homes below: A viability assessment based on the optimum housing mix has been undertaken using the following planning assumptions Rental Income – The site is projected to generate £117k of rental income in the first year following completion (Year 1). For future years it has been assumed rent will increase by 3% per annum (general assumption of 2% CPI plus 1%) Capital Costs and Loan Charges – The development is assumed to have a development capital cost of £4.5m (£300k per home) of which £2.04m (£136k per home) is projected to be funded through Scottish Government Affordable Housing Supply Grant. This therefore requires net borrowing of £2.46m. Based on borrowing £2.46m over 60 years, and assuming a loan interest rate of 4.25%, the Council would repay £6.84m over the life of the loan, including repayment of the principal and the interest. This equates to £114k per annum. Operating Costs – Operating costs are assumed to be £2,750 per unit (£41,250 in year 1). For future years it has been assumed operating costs will increase by 2% per annum (general assumption of 2% CPI). Operating costs includes all management and maintenance costs including staff, responsive repair and maintenance costs and includes provision for void periods and bad debt provision. Replacement Costs – Assumption there will be no replacement costs in years 1-15 then fixed costs of £1,500 per unit per annum so a total of £22.5k per annum from year 16 onwards. House Type Sustainability Standard Number of new Homes House 4 bed/6 person Net Zero 2 House 3 bed/6 person Net Zero 2 House 3bed/6-person w/c Net Zero 1 Cottage Flat 1bed/2 person Net Zero 8 Cottage Flat 3bed/5-person w/c Net Zero 1 Cottage Flat 2bed/4person Net Zero 1
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The above table illustrates over the 60-year borrowing life, the cost and benefit to the Housing Revenue Account and based on this modelling, achieves: • Cash-flow positive from Year 13 • Cumulative Surplus achieved from Year 28 • A 60-year surplus of £6.5m to support and strengthen the wider HRA. This evidences that the site is financially viable over its life. Furthermore, the projected 45% grant ratio maintains the project within the HRA affordability thresholds. The 15 new homes will also generate additional council tax revenue per annum. Therefore, it is recommended for inclusion within the current More Homes Delivery Programme. It is estimated that demolition works will commence in Autumn 2027 before a site start on the new homes could be achieved in the first quarter of 2028. It is the preferred route that the demolition and the delivery of the new homes will be within the one contract award and seek to carry out the procurement of, and to subsequently award, a design and build contract up to budgeted costs for the demolition of current Gray Street homes and the delivery of the 15 new council homes. West Thomson Street (former Clydebank Health Centre) The proposed development will provide 42 new homes - 15 units of family housing and 27, fully accessible, sheltered/amenity homes for the elderly. The proposed housing mix is noted below: - Gray Street Regeneration Viability Assessment - (15 homes) Year Rent Revenue (£) Operating Costs (£) Capital Replacement (£) Net Revenue (£) Loan Repayment (£) Surplus/ Deficit (£) Cumulative Surplus (£) Per Tenant Impact (£) 1 117,000 41,250 0 75,750 113,927 -38,177 -38,177 -3.64 2 120,510 42,075 0 78,435 113,927 -35,492 -73,669 -7.02 3 124,125 42,916 0 81,209 113,927 -32,718 -106,387 -10.13 4 127,849 43,775 0 84,074 113,927 -29,853 -136,240 -12.98 5 131,685 44,650 0 87,035 113,927 -26,892 -163,132 -15.54 10 152,658 49,298 0 103,360 113,927 -10,567 -249,672 -23.78 15 176,973 54,428 0 122,545 113,927 8,618 -246,186 -23.45 16 182,282 55,517 22,500 104,265 113,927 -9,662 -255,848 -24.37 20 205,160 60,093 22,500 122,567 113,927 8,640 -249,472 -23.76 25 237,837 66,348 22,500 148,989 113,927 35,062 -128,690 -12.26 28 259,891 70,409 22,500 166,982 113,927 53,055 12,101 1.15 30 275,718 73,254 22,500 179,964 113,927 66,037 137,582 13.10 40 370,543 89,297 22,500 258,746 113,927 144,819 1,210,784 115.31 50 497,979 108,853 22,500 366,626 113,927 252,699 3,224,476 307.09 60 669,242 132,691 22,500 514,051 113,927 400,124 6,524,496 621.38 House Type Bed Number WCH Sheltered/Amenity Flat 1 27 27 Cottage Flat 1 2 2 Duplex Cottage Flat 3 2 House 5 2 House 4 5 House 3 4
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CCG were awarded the contract for the design and build of the development. They are currently working on the technical design. The programme indicates a site start of winter 2026/7 with completion 56 weeks later. The Young Street tenants had the opportunity to visit the Willox Park Phase 1 homes to give more informed feedback of a potential new homes within this development. Six of the 22 residents attended this arranged visit. The consultive exercise with the Young Street residents didn’t provide a clear consensus that the new homes at West Thomson Street should be a replacement for the existing sheltered housing at Young Street. This combined with an updated analysis of the waiting list and stock lists indicate that the demand for sheltered/amenity housing in Clydebank is significant. As committed within the local housing strategy we must strategically plan for an increasing ageing demographic taking these factors into consideration the plan is to introduce twenty-seven new sheltered/amenity homes in the West Thomson Street development and recommence general letting activity within the Young Street complex immediately. Housing and HSCP will work in partnership to develop the new homes to meet identified need. Dennystoun Forge Gypsy/Traveller Site The project has been scored and assessed as a priority in the new Strategic Housing Investment Plan, with a proposed site start late financial year 2026/27. Our in-house design team and procurement colleagues are proceeding to detail our plans, and discussions are ongoing with other council service areas in terms of assessing potential decant location options to allow the works to the existing site to commence. We have carried out further detailed consultations individually with all residents on their detailed decant needs, including what support is required for older members of the community, and now have good information on their preferred final design solution. We are following this up with consideration of the chalet options available which meet our criteria. As of 1st April 2026, projects of this nature are eligible for AHSP grant support. Queen Mary Avenue, Clydebank (Clydebank Gap Sites) The Housing Mix can be seen below: House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes 1 bed/2 person Cottage Flat Net Zero 10 2 bed/3 person WCH Cottage Flat Net Zero 1 3 bed/4 person Cottage Flat Net Zero 1 3 bedroom terraced house Net Zero 3 4 bedroom semi-detached Net Zero 2 Total 42 29
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The main contractor is CCG. Site start was the 20th October 2025 with a planned programme of 61 weeks. Dumbuie Avenue and Smollett Road (Silverton Regeneration) The council have been assembling this site for over 10 years, following structural issues with the previous properties located within the sites which were demolished in November 2024. Following approval from the Housing and Communities Committee to direct award a design and build contract to deliver the Silverton regeneration project up to the budgeted costs for project (Dumbuie Avenue and Smollett Road), the project is now included within the Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2026/27-2031/32 which was approved at the Housing and Communities Committee of 19th November 2025. A Planning application for the Dumbuie element is planned to be submitted May 2026. The refreshed housing mix includes: • 1x 3-bedroom wheelchair bungalow; • 2x 3-bedroom semi-detached houses; and • 3x 3-bedroom terraced houses. Bridge Street, Alexandria Following the purchase of the former Prep4Life building at Bridge Street, Alexandria; The Council is seeking approval to conduct a mini competition on the Scottish Procurement Alliance RM3 framework for a contractor to convert the building into 8 units of self-contained accommodation. The aim of these works is to enable accommodation for young care leavers to transition out of residential care, with a level of support, prior to taking on their own independent tenancy. Ottawa Crescent The Council are seeking to deliver 21 amenity homes, similar to the successful developments at Creveul Court, Alexandria and Mount Pleasant, Old Kilpatrick. This was assessed as a strategic housing priority in the Strategic Housing Investment Plan approved in November and permission to undertake the procurement exercise was established at the February 26 HACC. We were able to secure additional Scottish Government acquisition funding of £379,000 for the 2025/6 financial year from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme.
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Housing Development are now working with partners in Legal and Procurement to procure the main contractor for the project and work towards a site start date in Summer 2026. The proposed housing Mix is provided below: House/Flat Type Bedrooms Number Flat GF WCH 1 3 Flat with lift 2 9 GF Cottage Flat 1 2 FF Cottage Flat 1 2 Bungalow 1 5 Buyback Programme Total number of properties purchased in 2025/26 financial year 35 Total Purchase Value £3,460,850 6 of these properties were long term Empty Homes and we worked alongside our Empty Homes Officer to purchase these properties and bring them back into use in West Dunbartonshire. In 2026/27 we have already purchased one four-bedroom property, in addition a further six properties are under offer. Below is an update breakdown of acquisitions by electoral ward for the full financial year 25/26: 4.9 The Housing Service are continuously looking for opportunities to provide additional new build council homes and will bring any potential site to the Housing and Communities Committee with as much information as possible as part of the regular More Homes update paper. PROPERTY SIZE PURCHASED 5 apt 7 4 apt 12 3 apt 6 2 apt 10 Buyback Acquisitions 2025/26 No of Acquisitions (as at 31/03/26) Ward 1 - Lomond 5 Ward 2 – Leven 10 Ward 3 – Dumbarton 3 Ward 4 – Kilpatrick 4 Ward 5 – Clydebank Central 6 Ward 6 – Clydebank Waterfront 7 Total 35
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4.10 In March, the Scottish Government published the four-year resource planning allocations to deliver new housing within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. West Dunbartonshire receives 1.7% of the total overall funding and £51m over the four-year period. 5. People Implications 5.1 The delivery of the More Homes delivery programme is managed through existing resource within the Housing Development & Homelessness team funded from the Housing Capital Investment Programme. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications Financial 6.1 The Council has to date delivered 586 new homes for social rent; these additional homes bring council tax revenue of around £815k per year to West Local Authority Area 2026-27 £m 2027-28 £m 2028-29 £m 2029-30 £m Total £m Aberdeen City 16.298 16.787 17.290 17.809 68.184 Aberdeenshire 27.779 28.612 29.470 30.355 116.216 Angus 10.118 10.422 10.735 11.057 42.332 Argyll & Bute 20.189 20.795 21.419 22.062 84.465 Clackmannanshire 6.984 7.193 7.409 7.631 29.216 Dumfries & Galloway 22.597 23.275 23.973 24.692 94.537 Dundee City 18.616 19.174 19.749 20.342 77.881 East Ayrshire 13.598 14.006 14.426 14.859 56.890 East Dunbartonshire 7.738 7.970 8.209 8.455 32.372 East Lothian 12.554 12.931 13.319 13.718 52.521 East Renfrewshire 7.696 7.926 8.164 8.409 32.196 Edinburgh, City of 66.383 68.375 70.426 72.539 277.723 Falkirk 14.982 15.431 15.894 16.371 62.679 Fife 39.963 41.162 42.396 43.668 167.189 Glasgow, City of 123.283 126.982 130.791 134.715 515.772 Highland 50.132 51.636 53.185 54.781 209.733 Inverclyde 10.476 10.791 11.114 11.448 43.830 Midlothian 10.586 10.904 11.231 11.568 44.288 Moray 9.571 9.858 10.153 10.458 40.040 Na h-Eileanan Siar 9.088 9.361 9.642 9.931 38.021 North Ayrshire 16.889 17.396 17.918 18.455 70.659 North Lanarkshire 36.014 37.095 38.208 39.354 150.671 Orkney Islands 3.933 4.051 4.172 4.297 16.453 Perth & Kinross 16.998 17.508 18.033 18.574 71.112 Renfrewshire 19.171 19.747 20.339 20.949 80.206 Scottish Borders 17.743 18.275 18.823 19.388 74.230 Shetland Islands 5.609 5.777 5.950 6.129 23.465 South Ayrshire 13.225 13.622 14.031 14.451 55.329 South Lanarkshire 32.384 33.356 34.357 35.387 135.484 Stirling 11.738 12.090 12.453 12.826 49.106 West Dunbartonshire 12.201 12.567 12.944 13.333 51.046 West Lothian 17.933 18.471 19.025 19.596 75.026 Total 702.470 723.544 745.250 767.608 2938.872
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Dunbartonshire Council. 6.2 On 4 March 2026 supported by tenant representatives the Council approved the Housing Capital Programme 2025-2030 which saw appropriate resources committed to the delivery of new council homes in West Dunbartonshire. An expenditure budget of £99.675m for the affordable housing supply programme inclusive of acquisitions is factored into the 5-year HRA Capital Programme. As it currently stands, it is anticipated that this programme will complete within project life budget. 6.3 Housing and Finance Officers will continue to assess the ongoing affordability of future developments within the context of the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan. Procurement 6.4 All new development sites will be subject to new detailed procurement strategies and the opportunities highlighted within 4.8 of this report will continue to be prioritised. Where the contract award for services is less than £213,477 (inc VAT), authority is delegated to the Chief Officer in consultation with the Procurement Manager to instruct the award of contracts for the planned revenue and capital spend detailed in this report to suppliers providing the most economically advantageous offer to the Council. 6.5 All procurement activity conducted by the Council more than £2m for works is subject to a contract strategy. The contract strategy for new housing development within the HRA Capital Programme will be developed by the Corporate Procurement Unit in consultation with Housing Development Officers. The contract strategy will include but is not limited to; contract scope, service forward plan, the market, procurement model, and routes – including existing delivery vehicles, roles and responsibilities, risks, issues and opportunities and on-going contract management. Opportunities to maximise the positive social, economic, and environmental impact for the Council through the relevant procurement processes will be developed in line with procurement policy. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 All Council new build projects have their own Risk Register which highlights the risk within and out-with the project team’s control. These are maintained and adjusted on an on-going basis. 7.2 With any new build project there is a risk that as the projects develop the cost increases beyond the estimated contract cost. Any additional borrowing requirements, or conversely, cost savings will be reported to future meetings of the Housing and Communities Committee. However, this is mitigated through a target cost model approach in our current contract arrangements within the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) framework and Scotland Excel.
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7.3 Housing supply continues to be the key factor in terms of the national and local housing emergencies and if not increased and/or demand reduced it will lead to continued pressures on other Council and Health and Social Care Partnership service areas such as Homelessness which will have negative financial implications for the wider Council’s general fund. 8 Environmental Sustainability 8.1 The delivery of new homes is within the approved More Homes zero carbon approach. Our current and future approach to strategic housing asset management will continue to prioritise a ‘zero carbon’ approach to decision making and deliverability and this will be done the aims of the Housing Asset Management Strategy and the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 The proposal does not alter any existing policy or pattern of service delivery and so is not considered to require an equalities impact assessment. 10. Consultation 10.1 As part of a rent consultation exercise in 2025, 92% of respondents indicated their support for the Council’s ambitious plans to deliver the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) new council house build programme. In addition, there was positive support for the wider delivery of new build housing as part of the current Local Housing Strategy. Regular updates on new build development are provided to the West Dunbartonshire Tenants and Residents Organisation at the bi-monthly liaison meetings. 11. Strategic Assessment 11.1 The Local Housing Strategy is the overarching document setting out the strategic direction for housing across all tenures and informs the future investment in housing and related services across West Dunbartonshire. 11.2 Having considered all the Council’s strategic priorities, this report, and the provision of new supply social housing for rent contributes greatly to all the Council’s strategic priorities. Peter Barry Chief Officer, Housing Date: 29 April 2026 Person to Contact: John Kerr – Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: john.kerr@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
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Mikayla Deeley, Senior Housing Development Officer, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability: email mikayla.deeley@west- dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: None Background Papers: West Dunbartonshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy West Dunbartonshire Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan Local Housing Strategy, Health Inequalities Impact Assessment Wards Affected: All