Item 10 - More Homes WD
West Dunbartonshire Council · 12 August 2026
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 12 August 2026 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer, Housing Housing and Communities Committee: 12 August 2026 Subject: More Homes West Dunbartonshire – West Dunbartonshire Council Affordable Housing Supply Delivery Programme 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Housing and Communities Committee with an update on progress with West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme, which oversees delivery of the Council’s new build housing 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 (ii) Notes the nomination of Mount Pleasant and the award win of the Willox Court development in the Excellence in Accessibility and Inclusion category at the 2026 Scottish Home Awards; (iii) Notes the commendation award of Mount Pleasant and the award win for Willox Court in the 2026 Homes for Scotland ‘Affordable Development of the Year – Small’ category; (iv) Notes the successful completion and forthcoming completion of the Bonhill Gap Sites at Braehead and Campbell Street; (v) Approve that the Chief Officer, Housing, in collaboration with the Procurement Manager, explores the potential for, and where appropriate undertakes, a procurement exercise for a design and build contract for the Queen’s Quay Site C development, subject to costs returned being deemed acceptable by the service and compliant with procurement requirements (vi) Notes the mainly positive feedback of the West Dunbartonshire Council Strategic Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) from the Scottish Government; and (vii) Approve and invite the Chief Officer, Housing, in collaboration with the Chief Officer, Regulatory and Regeneration and the Chief Officer, Resources, to conclude a short-term leasing arrangement for the vacant site at Vale of Leven Industrial Estate to support the temporary decant of ITEM 10
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Dennystoun Forge tenants while the wider regeneration works are completed. 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 Communities Committee in November 2025. The SHIP outlines plans to contribute to the Council Administration’s aim of delivering 2,500 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 and declaration of a housing emergency. 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.
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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 previously. 4.6 The Council’s recent completed developments at Mount Pleasant and Willox Park have both been shortlisted for the Affordable Housing Development of the Year Award in the Homes for Scotland Awards, for which Mount Pleasant was commended and Willox Park won. Both were also shortlisted for the 2026 Scottish Home Awards Excellence in Accessibility and Inclusion category of which Willox Park also won. This follows the Clydebank East development being awarded the prestigious Herald Property Awards - Affordable Housing Development of the Year Award late last year, for which the Mount Pleasant development has also been shortlisted this year. 4.7 As part of our ongoing monitoring of the impact of the completed housing developments, the three most recent mainstream completions (Clydebank East/Mount Pleasant and Pappert) have significantly contributed to meeting housing need within West Dunbartonshire communities and combined have contributed to lifting 131 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. The development has won two awards recently: • The 2026 Homes for Scotland ‘Affordable Development of the Year – Small’ award and; • The 2026 Scottish Home Awards ‘Excellence in Accessibility and Inclusion’. Willox Park Phase 2 Phase 2 is part of the wider housing regeneration plans for the Willox Park area. House Type Sustainability Standard Number of New Homes Flat 2bed/3person Net Zero 2 Flat 1 bed/2person Net Zero 15
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Planning was submitted for 22 new amenity homes on the 23rd June 2026. The housing mix can be viewed in the table 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. The design team are currently working towards the demolition of the existing Willox Park stock. This is estimated to begin in October to enable a site start in the new year. One resident remains in the complex. 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 were scheduled to complete within a 56-week period. Handovers for Braehead were completed in July. The full handover for the properties in Campbell Street are expected to be completed in August 2026. The JR Group were successful in the tender for the 6x 1 bedroom cottage flats at the O’Hare site and are currently developing the technical design and programme. All going well with approvals there is an estimated site start for early Autumn 2026. 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 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 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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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 April 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 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 and was approved at the May meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee. 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: - 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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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 with completion 56 weeks later. The current plan is to introduce twenty-seven additional sheltered/amenity homes through this West Thomson Street development. The current energy strategy allows for a communal ground source heating system. This may offer future opportunity to tie into the wider district heat network and the end of the system’s life cycle. We are applying for funding from the Scottish Heat Network Fund to try and mitigate the costs of this but have yet to receive a decision. Councillors should be aware that this system will be subject to reporting as a requirement of the new Ofgem regulations for heat networks which will have resource implications and will be highlighted to a future meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee. Other sites including Clydebank East, Queen’s Quay and Willox Court will also be subject to this new regulatory obligation. We are continuing to monitor these factors and costs as we move forward with the design. Dennystoun Forge Gypsy/Traveller Site To enable the works to proceed safely, residents will require to be decanted during the contract period. Officers from across relevant service areas, together with residents, carried out an assessment of Council decant site options. The assessment found that a vacant site within the Vale of Leven Industrial Estate was the favoured location, with the old pavilion area at Havoc being considered as the standby should the preferred option not be possible. Committee approval is sought to proceed to agree terms for a short-term lease of this site for a period of approximately 6-9 months while the main regeneration works at Dennystoun Forge take place. A planning application will require to be lodged for temporary consent. If consent is granted, works will proceed as soon as practicable to enable residents to move from the main site. Timescales will be finalised, but it is hoped that works will commence before the end of 2026. Queen Mary Avenue, Clydebank (Clydebank Gap Sites) The Housing Mix can be seen below: 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 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. The contractor is optimistic of a handover at the beginning of September 2026. 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 Dumbuie was submitted in May 26 however we now have design information which has increased the cost of delivery summarised below: 1, A piled foundation solution is required due to ground conditions. 2. Scottish Water have notified that connection can’t be made to the adjacent combined sewar and this needs to be taken to a connection at the A82 3. Flood mitigation to the threshold is required. The three components above now make the development unaffordable within the current approved budget. Officers have approached the Scottish Government for additional funding and further grant funding would be required for this project to meet the Council’s viability assessment. Officers are also exploring other potential grant funding streams to support delivery of the site. The housing mix includes: • 1x 3-bedroom wheelchair bungalow; • 2x 3-bedroom semi-detached houses; and • 3x 3-bedroom terraced houses. 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
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28 Bridge Street, Alexandria This project relates to the purchase of the former Prep4Life building at Bridge Street, Alexandria. A mini competition was published on 23rd June 2026 with a closing date of 21st July 2026, through the Scottish Procurement Alliance RM3 framework, for a contractor to convert the building into 8 units of self- contained accommodation – including 2 ground floor wheelchair accessible units. 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. Housing have worked closely with West Dunbartonshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership on this project. Ottawa Crescent This project is for 21 amenity homes, similar to the successful developments at Creveul Court, Alexandria and Mount Pleasant, Old Kilpatrick. CCG are the build contractor. They started on site at the start of June and have a completion date estimate of July 2027 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 Queen’s Quay Site C The current development proposals from Barratt for 227 new homes on the adjacent land next to site C has enhanced the viability of being able to develop the council owned land on Queen’s Quay Site C. Previously, Queen’s Quay Site C has not been an affordable site to develop due to the costs associated with infrastructure such as extensive road and utilities provision. However, the Barratts development offers a unique opportunity which could potentially mitigate these costs and open up the Site C land to develop for affordable social housing. There are also other factors which may help to keep development costs down for the Council if we enter into a deal with the contractor. For example, there will be a mitigated/shared cost for programming, site mobilisation, site investigation, required piling work, and connection to district heat network and roads infrastructures. It is anticipated that this would result in value for money for the council due to
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economies of scale for Barratt, which would not be achievable if this was developed as a stand-alone site. Barratt are not currently on a framework which can be utilised for local authority council housing. We are therefore seeking permission to explore the potential to enter into a design and build contract, depending on price and design, with Barratt for the development of affordable social housing for West Dunbartonshire Council. The Council has received grant funding to acquire the site, if the site is not able to be developed the funding would be clawed back by the Scottish Government. No current legal agreement or commitment has been made as we are only exploring this as an avenue to develop the site. Buyback Programme Total number of properties purchased in 2026/27 financial year 10 Total Purchase Value £1,300,550 We have a further 7 properties under offer awaiting completion dates. Below is an update breakdown of acquisitions by electoral ward for the financial year so far 26/27: Mortgage to Rent We have also completed the purchase of a property in O’Hare through the Scottish Governments mortgage to rent scheme. 4.9 In May 2026 the Scottish Government issued its feedback on the West Dunbartonshire Council Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2026 – 2031 which was approved by Housing and Communities Committee in PROPERTY SIZE PURCHASED 5 apt 2 4 apt 4 3 apt 2 2 apt 2 Buyback Acquisitions 2025/26 No of Acquisitions (as at 09/07/26) Ward 1 - Lomond 2 Ward 2 – Leven 2 Ward 3 – Dumbarton 1 Ward 4 – Kilpatrick 0 Ward 5 – Clydebank Central 5 Ward 6 – Clydebank Waterfront 0 Total 10
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November 2025. The feedback re-emphasises the importance of the SHIP as the expression of the Council’s strategic housing investment priorities. 4.10 The feedback provided a positive summary of Scottish Government feedback on West Dunbartonshire Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2026– 2031, highlighting strong alignment with Local Housing Strategy outcomes and clear recognition of the Council’s delivery performance, prioritisation and partnership approach. The feedback particularly acknowledges the SHIP’s contribution to increasing the supply of new build social rented homes, including larger family homes, wheelchair accessible properties and specialist provision, supporting wider objectives around homelessness prevention, child poverty reduction and equalities. It also recognises the Council’s strong collaborative approach with partners and communities. Two areas for further consideration are identified: exploring the use of income from empty and second homes to support affordable housing delivery, and ensuring that all new developments, including those delivered by RSL partners, contribute to Housing Solutions/Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan and Housing First objectives. 4.11 In July, the Scottish Government officially 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. 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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4.12 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. 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 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 is less than £213,000, 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 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
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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. 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
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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: 30 July 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 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 West Dunbartonshire Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan, Feedback Report, Scottish Government, May 2026 Local Housing Strategy, Health Inequalities Impact Assessment Wards Affected: All