Homes For All?

Great news for Inverkeithing, but there is still a long way to go to provide all of the modern council homes that are needed to meet public demand across Fife.

"FIFE Council has now taken the first steps towards providing new Council housing. The first new council house provision in decades will be targetted first at areas of most need, including Dunfermline, Inverkeithing and the West Fife villages."

Carnegie's in the House.

Carnegie reads that "HRH The Princess Royal is to perform the official opening in Dunfermline on Wednesday 13th February, of the iconic new £2.9 million headquarters of the four British-based Carnegie charitable trusts. The Carnegie UK Trust, the Carnegie Dunfermline & Hero Fund Trusts and the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland this week began co-locating in their bespoke new building on the northern rim of Pittencrieff Park. Andrew Carnegie House – named after the trusts’ founder and the father of modern philanthropy – will be home to both a cutting-edge community-based trust and sister trusts engaged in higher education, research and policy advocacy, as well as support for injured heroes or their surviving dependents."

Carnegie thinks this is great but he wonders if he will get an invitation to the event? It would be good to meet The Princess Royal. Carnegie has read so much about her. Although Carnegie seems to recall that in his earlier incarnations he was wasn't exactly a big fan of the British Monarchy, which makes the decision of the Carnegie Trust to invite a Royal to open a building in his name somewhat ironic.

Right to buy.

Carnegie reads that Fife Council's SNP/Lib Dem administration is to consider building new Council houses in the Kingdom. "A DECISION on whether to build new council houses in Fife will be made early in the New Year."

Now Carnegie would agree that there needs to be more affordable social housing available for those who can't or don't want to buy, but he would point out that until curbs are put on the current rights of tenants to buy, that any Council thinking about the move would be as well to take the cash they will spend on new homes and bury it in a hole in some one's garden for all the social benefit it would deliver.

Several Scottish Councils have restricted the right to buy in their areas because there are so few Council houses left, and Fife has some areas included within that, but until the policy is changed nationally there will still be no incentive to build Council houses for rent. Carnegie thinks it would be far better to work with other types of social landlord to deliver additional homes for rent, and probably a lot cheaper in the medium term.