A FRUSTRATED councillor has hit out at the delays to the long awaited Selkirk Road housing development in Moffat.
Members of the Annandale and Eskdale area committee were yesterday given an update on the site, and also on Murtholm Farm in Langholm.
A total of 74 new homes are planned in Moffat, by Loreburn Housing Association (LHA), of which 31 will have specialist provisions and be wheelchair accessible.
However, last year the organisation announced that while it remained a priority project for them, it could now be “delivered over a potentially longer timeframe”.
This week elected members heard that LHA are still working on improving “financial capacity for new development” and, as such, there is no start date yet.
But, they are close to signing a new model with a private developer that will also allow private homes to be built on Selkirk Road, and thus enable the development of affordable homes in the shorter term, including accessible bungalows.
At the meeting, Annandale East and Eskdale Cllr Denis Male stressed how much the homes are needed locally in both towns.
He said: “This is serious. It’s about elderly people being able to stay in their communities and not been farmed out all over this region.
“I find it absolutely disgraceful that this has been stopped. Both these sites need to be developed and as fast as possible. It’s a serious, serious situation.”
Meanwhile, committee chairman Cllr Ian Carruthers added: “We now have a clearer picture and I welcome the update.”
