AN ‘AFFORDABLE housing emergency’ has been declared in East Lothian, amid claims that the local authority is just "days away" from losing land at new housing developments which had been allocated for affordable properties.

A special meeting of East Lothian Council was called on Tuesday to discuss the crisis facing the county’s housing supply, after officers said that a cut in expected Scottish Government funding meant they could not longer invest in sites.

A report by officers said that the local authority faced losing out on up to 1,200 affordable homes expected to be built over the next five years.

And it said that, despite the council receiving "record amounts" of investment from the Government in recent years, it was left unable to fulfil its strategy because of a sudden drop in funds.

The meeting was told that East Lothian had become a "victim of its own success" after receiving £12 million a year in funds as part of its Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIP), before it dropped to just £7 million last year.

The report said: “If investment were available to deliver all of the projects set out in the SHIP, a total of 1,566 units could complete over the next five years.

“Based on the actual allocation received, there is a very high risk that we could lose 1,226 units of affordable housing.”

Officers had initially invited councillors to declare a housing emergency but instead brought an amended proposal to them describing it as an "affordable housing emergency" to reflect the concerns about losing the sites.

READ MORE: East Lothian Council set to declare housing emergency

Councillor Andy Forrest, housing spokesperson for the council's Labour administration, moved a motion calling for additional funding from the Scottish and UK Governments to tackle the affordable housing emergency, saying: “It requires an urgent response to ensure we do not lose affordable housing units available through our Section 75 obligations.”

SNP councillor Lee-Anne Menzies, however, raised concerns that simply declaring the emergency and asking for more money to secure the sites which the council faced losing would not solve the problem.

Ms Menzies moved for a postponement of the declaration, calling for more information on alternative means of raising revenue, including borrowing against current housing stock by raising the rent, to be considered.

She said: “We have the highest-priced housing in East Lothian yet the lowest council rent.

"I do not think we have all the information we need on options to make this declaration.”

Her motion was voted down by 15 votes to four.

Councillor Shona McIntosh, the county’s sole Scottish Greens councillor, proposed an addition to Mr Forrest’s motion which would have called for officers to additionally draw up a housing plan to be brought back in six months looking at wider options for tackling the issue.

It was also rejected by Labour and Conservative councillors, defeated by 15 votes to four, with SNP members supporting Ms McIntosh.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, council leader, told the meeting that action had to be taken now to ensure the Scottish and UK Governments were aware of the crisis facing East Lothian.

He said: “Families who are sitting homeless right now are not worried about all the other issues, they just want a home over their heads.

“We have done everything asked of us by the Scottish Government to bring housing to East Lothian but the 25 per cent affordable housing needs more funding.

“We are just days away from losing these sites unless we can get this message across to Government now.”

'Urgently needed'

Following the meeting, Mr Forrest said: “The serious impact of this reduction in investment cannot be underestimated given the current and growing housing pressures in East Lothian and in the context of a national housing emergency.

"The reason we are declaring this affordable housing emergency now is that we are at imminent risk of losing affordable units on sites where housing is currently being built or where work is about to start, including sites in Musselburgh and Haddington.

"But there are sites all over East Lothian where we could potentially lose the affordable housing component that is so urgently needed.

“The reality is that, if the current situation continues, this council will struggle to deliver on both national and local policies in relation to affordable housing supply targets and our legal obligations in relation to homelessness and the use of unsuitable accommodation.

“East Lothian urgently needs an increase in new affordable housing supply if we are to meet the growing demand.

"We are uniquely paced in terms of new growth with the number of sites ready to deliver affordable housing; however, as a result of the drastically reduced funding, we are likely to lose these potential new units.”

East Lothian Council currently manages 9,353 properties and has 4,709 applicants on the housing list.

Average turnover of stock is usually about 500 properties per year; however, during 2023/24, a total of 664 properties were allocated, of which 209 were new-build, which contributed towards mitigating some of the pressures, the council said.