Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has revealed plans to build and develop over 300 new homes in 2012 including social rented, mid-market rent and shared ownership homes. 

These include 100 homes at Fox Street, off Salamander Place where the first phase of the project will be complete by the summer with residents beginning to move in soon after. The figure also includes 111 homes at Western Harbour where work is already underway and where the first mid-market rented homes will be available through the subsidiary company Persevere Development from early 2013.

There will be a £42m investment made to develop these 333 homes.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of PoLHA, said:

"There is an ever-increasing demand for good-quality affordable housing in the city.

"These 333 new homes we will be working on, delivering and developing throughout 2012 and beyond will go some way to alleviate the urgent need there is in Leith, Granton and the surrounding areas for affordable housing.

"These developments will make a difference. However, we face a far bigger issue and, despite funding constraints, commitment to improving and increasing the affordable housing stock must remain a priority.

"Good-quality housing and support is the cement that holds communities together and we are committed to doing more than simply providing bricks and mortar for our current and future tenants."

A further 44 units at Coburg Street will soon be occupied and the Association recently secured the gap site on Great Junction Street where the indoor market was destroyed by a fire in 2000. Work is expected to start on the site in the Spring and taking just over a year to complete. PoLHA will develop 32 homes at the site, as well as developing a commercial space on the ground floor.

It is also set to start work later in the year for 23 units at both Windsor Place in Portobello and Magdalene.

Keith Anderson added:

"Each of these projects will add to the areas in which they are located. The Great Junction Street site in particular will be a fantastic development for the street as the site has been an eyesore for more than a decade. Working alongside the Council to redevelop Fort House is also very important to us over the coming years.

"The impact of good quality affordable housing cannot be underestimated and has knock-on benefits for health, social care and the overall community."

The developments will be a mix of traditional social rented accommodation, mid-market rent (MMR) which offers rents at a level lower than market-rate for those who may not necessarily be considered for social housing lists and shared ownership which gives people on moderate incomes the chance to get on the property ladder.

PoLHA recently launched a wholly-owned subsidiary company Persevere Developments Ltd which allows them to respond to emerging housing need and demand and operate more effectively in the new development environment.