Kilwinning needs more council homes, says Labour councillor

Labour's Mary Hume has identified a potential third phase of development in St Michael's Wynd which would allow 46 new properties to be constructed.

She wants a mix of two-to-four-bedroom general needs properties, amenity bungalows, and homes for wheelchair users to be built on the former academy site.

Cllr Hume, who won a by-election in May, wants the proposal to be included in the next Strategic Housing Investment Plan which will go to Cabinet in the next few months.

She said: “I was elected on a clear mandate to get North Ayrshire Council investing in Kilwinning again, and securing new council housing is an important part of that.

“Since my by-election win in May, I have been approached by lots of families needing housing and I have been left frustrated with the clear lack of available housing in the town.

"Some of my constituents are living in very desperate situations, and I find it unacceptable.

“Unless the council starts building new council houses in Kilwinning again nothing will change.

"With the support of my Labour colleagues in Kilwinning, I have set out a plan that would see 46 new homes built at St Michael’s Wynd.

"It would be a start, but we will still need many more homes if we are to tackle the town’s shortage of council housing.”

Cllr Hume also had the town’s housing need assessed by officers. At June 2024, Kilwinning’s proportionate share of Housing Demand was assessed as 494 families, 428 of whom already live in the town.

St Michael's Wynd (Image: NAC) A 46-home development at St Michael’s Wynd would therefore still only address less than 10 per cent of the assessed Housing Demand.

Figures obtained by the North Ayrshire Labour Group recently revealed that the number of properties available for let in 2023-24 fell by 2.6 per cent.

At the same time homelessness rose six per cent, resulting in over half of all housing allocations being made to homeless applicants.

The rise in homelessness also means that the number of properties used as temporary housing has increased from 160 to 250 since the pandemic.

During her election campaign, former head teacher Cllr Hume claimed the current SNP administration at North Ayrshire Council had excluded the town from both the council’s capital programme and house building programme.

Labour Group leader, and fellow Kilwinning Councillor Joe Cullinane said: “It was under Labour councils that the first two phases at St Michael’s Wynd were built. I now believe it is time to start work on the third phase, that the last Labour administration had intended to deliver.

“I am supporting the great work that Mary has done to develop a proposal that would help tackle the clear housing need in the town."

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The council and its Registered Social Landlord partners have developed 283 new homes in Kilwinning between April 2013 and March 2024 from a total new housing supply of 1,778 units.

"This includes the 79 new homes at St Michael’s Place, Kilwinning, which was officially opened last year.

“We have also:

• refurbished the two existing Kilwinning sheltered housing complexes creating modern, accessible, energy efficient homes for tenants.
• acquired 11 homes in Kilwinning through buyback programmes.
• selected a number of Kilwinning projects for investment through the Estate Based Regeneration Programme.

“The Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2024-2029 included the provision of 11 new homes in Kilwinning. The annual review of the SHIP is currently under way, with reference to funding availability, housing demand and other considerations.

"The latest SHIP for the period 2025-2030 is expected to be presented to Cabinet on  December 3, 2024, at which point future development plans will be confirmed.”