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Minister Visits New Perth Affordable Housing Development
20 July 2010

The Leonard Street development, named Rutherford Court after the late St Johnstone player Drew Rutherford, is a joint project between Kingdom Housing Association and Perth-based Fairfield Housing Co-op.

This site was acquired in 2007 and is in a key city centre location but the former building and an adjacent workshop on the site were both in very poor condition and had to be demolished. The project is being developed by Kingdom Housing Association and the project will be transferred to Fairfield Housing Co-operative on its completion in September.

Planting a tree to mark his visit, Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said:

“The Scottish Government is determined to have more affordable housing in Scotland.

“We’ve invested over £1.2 million – over half the funding for this development – to deliver these 16 new flats in the centre of Perth.

“Over the last three years, we’ve invested nearly £44 million in affordable housing in the area and we are injecting over £2 million to build 81 new council houses.”

Fairfield Housing Co-op director Mr Grant Ager revealed, “We have experienced unprecedented demand for this development of four one-bedroomed flats and twelve two-bedroomed flats.

“This is the first new development in Perth city centre of affordable flats for rent for three or four years and there is clearly a huge pent-up demand. It underlines the case for continued investment in affordable housing.”

Mr Alan McGuckin, chief executive of Kingdom Housing Association, added, “ Together with Fairfield we have been able to deliver almost 100 new houses for affordable rent in Perthshire. The partnership is working very well. We are currently undertaking a development in Scone that will include flats designed for tenants with special needs and will be transferred to Fairfield on completion.”

And he revealed, “We also intend to acquire an affordable housing site in Errol in the next year that will be for the eventual benefit of both Kingdom Housing Association and Fairfield Housing Co-op.”