Stirling Council has taken the keys to the first new build council homes to be built in Dunblane for more than 45 years.

Miller Homes are building 79 new homes on the site of the former Barbush Quarry at the north end of the town and 26 of these will be offered for rent by Stirling Council.

The initial properties were handed over by the builder at the end of the summer, with the final properties completed in December 2021.

The mix of council housing includes six two-bedroom terraced homes, 12 one-bed flats and eight two-bed flats.

All of the properties have solar photovoltaic systems and battery storage systems installed and meet the new Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2 – 2032) which all social housing has to meet by 2032.

Councillor Jim Thomson, portfolio holder for housing, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to increase the number of council homes in Dunblane which is a high demand, high pressure area for social housing.

These are the first new council homes in the town since 1972. These high quality new homes will be made available to people on our housing list and I hope they will be delighted with their new homes.”

The above article & photo were from the Stirling Observer

Postscript : The article does not mention that these 26 Council houses have been provided in Dunblane thanks to the Council's Affordable Housing Policy. This policy requires 33% of any private sector new build in Dunblane to be made available to the Council or to an Housing Association for them to buy and then to rent them out at rents which are much lower than could be achieved in the private sector. On smaller schemes the Council can instead take a financial contribution from a developer which they then invest in the provision or maintenance of social rented housing. While no new Council houses have been built for a long time in Dunblane, in more recent times Forth Housing Association has built social rented houses at Old Doune Road (15 units) and at Bogside (9 units). Steve Mason