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Major council plans for Dalkeith housing

More than 1000 new homes are to be built by Midlothian Council in the property hotspot of Dalkeith.

It plans to spend £105m building new flats and two, three and four-bedroomed council houses for its tenants.

The commuter village chosen for the estate recently topped a property survey listing the most expensive places to live in Scotland.

The survey revealed the average cost of a house in Dalkeith had soared to over £192,000, knocking neighbouring Edinburgh off the top of the property market price list.

The increased popularity of the area, combined with a sharp increase in the number of tenants who now buy their council homes, has left Midlothian Council with a huge shortage of council stock in recent years.

But rather than going in partnership with the private sector to provide new houses for rent, council leaders plan to build enough new homes to meet the needs of their increasing number of council tenants for many years to come.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities says it will be by far the biggest council investment in council houses in Scotland for more than 30 years.

Danny Molloy, deputy leader of Midlothian Council, said: "We are immensely proud of this project. We are a small council making a massive investment to help meet our communities' housing needs.

"The demand on Midlothian council housing has increased in recent years due to factors such as the lack of affordable housing, increased homelessness, decreasing turnover in council housing stock and increased pressure on the rented sector as a result of the rising cost of private property."

Midlothian Council expects the building project to last five years and have earmarked sites.