South Lanarkshire Council has achieved a major milestone, after reaching the halfway point in its commitment to deliver 1,000 new council homes.

At a meeting of its housing and technical resources committee earlier this month, members heard that the council is well on the way to delivering its target of 1,000 homes by 2021, with 502 additional houses having either been built, under construction or acquired.

The committee heard that 193 homes have been delivered during the last financial year alone, more than a third of which have been designed to accommodate tenants with a range of specialised needs.

Delivering a report on the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2020-25, head of housing services, Annette Finnan, said: "Through close partnership working with other social housing providers and the Scottish government, we have made good progress in delivering on our development priorities.

"This significant investment shows our commitment to ensuring council tenants are living in modern, energy efficient homes which are suitable for their needs by continuing to build homes which provide 21st century living in flexible and innovative environments.”

As well as noting progress made on delivery of affordable housing, councillors on the committee agreed to approve the content of the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2020-25 which sets out potential capacity for the council, along with other social housing providers, to deliver more than 3000 affordable homes across South Lanarkshire by 2025.