With today (15^th May) marking a year since the national housing emergency was declared in Scotland, Homes for Scotland (HFS), the representative body for the country’s home building sector, has announced it is to undertake a consumer campaign to challenge public thinking and help to inform civic society on the need for new homes and the wide-ranging benefits they offer.

With HFS members providing the vast majority of new homes of all tenures, the campaign, which is supported by Lloyds Banking Group and taking place during the organisation’s 25^th anniversary year, will support its primary purpose of delivering more homes for the people of Scotland. Everything the HFS team does is focused on identifying the many barriers that prevent this happening and developing the solutions required to tackle them. Current key constraints include the planning system and the cumulative impact of recent/proposed legislation which it has been estimated will add £34,000 to the cost of building a new home.

Jane Wood, Chief Executive, Homes for Scotland, said: “Scotland’s housing system is in a precarious position with 28 per cent (693,000) of households identified as being in some form of housing need, with homelessness at record levels as demand continues to outstrip supply.

“In working with Muckle Media, we’ll be exploring new ways to bring the topic into the homes of consumers, as well as politicians, so that it’s an issue that hopefully transcends the board room to people’s living rooms. We’re also working with George Clarke to help maximise our reach and very excited about what’s to come. We are looking forward to revealing plans of the campaign soon.”