AROUND 370 new council houses are to be built in the Wee County over the next five years.

The figure was approved at last Thursday’s, November 8, Place Committee meeting at Clackmannanshire Council as officers tabled the Strategic Housing Investment Plan for 2019-2024.

With money largely from the Scottish Government and the local authority itself around £18.7million will be spent on housing in the area over the next three years alone, officers expecting the figure to rise in the future.

The future population of the Wee County is expected to get older and specialist housing provision will increase, according to the document brought to Kilncraigs.

It added: “Although the population is in decline, the number of households remains on the increase because households are getting smaller.

“By 2037, 75 per cent of all households are predicted to be either single person or a couple.”

The strategic plan was unanimously agreed by councillors, many of whom were happy to see some brownfield sites back on the Shadow Programme, which lists places for potential development should the main programme slip, or should more funding become available.

These include the site of the former Alva Glen Hotel, where there is planning permission for 11 units, potentially reducing to eight.

Kingdom Housing Association in talks with owners with a view of purchasing homes for social rent.

Councillor Donald Balisillie, seconding, hailed it as an “ambitious programme” while Labour’s Kenny Earle highlighted a peculiar issue.

He explained some recently completed new housing is of such quality and size tenants have to dig deeper into the pocket because properties ended up in higher council tax bands based on their value.