West Lothian is still struggling to tackle its housing waiting list, despite building more new houses than almost every other Scottish local authority.
The county comes in third place behind neighbour authorities for the number of new houses built since the turn of the century.
But while a quarter of the more than 1,000 new homes built in West Lothian in 2024 were classed as affordable, it comes nowhere near addressing the 11,000 plus waiting list.
And elsewhere there are warnings that such concentrated development around the capital cannot continue without substantial infrastructure investment by Holyrood.
Midlothian’s Labour group leader last week said his council would have to put up the “full” signs.
New starts on housebuilding fell across Scotland to their lowest since 2012, according to figures released last month.
The fall comes despite the Scottish Government calling a national housing emergency in 2024, while at least a dozen councils have also called their own emergencies.
West Lothian far outstrips the national housing completion figures. Between 2001 and 2023, the number of homes in the county has increased by 28%.
This is the third highest percentage change out of the 32 council areas in Scotland and a more rapid change than for Scotland as a whole, which grew by 17.%.
Only East Lothian and Midlothian have seen more new homes built.
In the last five years nearly 5,000 new homes have been built in West Lothian, which has substantially widened choices.
Since 2018, the average annual delivery rate in West Lothian has risen from 875 to 997 per annum.
In 2024, the all-tenure house building completion figure for West Lothian was 1088 homes of which 275, or 25% were “affordable”.
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The delivery of new social housing remains an ongoing commitment from the council and the development of new units is progressing well across a number of locations in West Lothian.
“Since 2022, 1,208 homes have been completed in the affordable housing programme by the council and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in West Lothian.
“All types of social housing in West Lothian, whether council or RSL, are currently in very high demand and as a result, anyone considering applying for social housing in West Lothian is strongly encouraged to ensure that they register not just with the council, but with all Registered Social Landlords who operate in West Lothian.”
Access to Edinburgh has helped grow the demands for housing in the neighbouring authorities, putting pressure on all three councils in the number of planning applications and the demand for sites.
While 25% of all new development must be “affordable” the bulk of homes being green lit are much more expensive, rather than purely social housing, leaving West Lothian with a growing housing list and limited cash resources to provide more social housing.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed last week concerns in Midlothian about the concentration of development.
Former council leader Derek Milligan, who is the Labour group leader, says the county cannot continue to provide housing sites to meet government targets without more investment.
Speaking after Midlothian council’s planning committee approved the addition of new sites onto a land shortlist last month, Councillor Milligan who spoke out against the additional housing, said it was not possible to keep building without improvements to roads and services.
He said: “If we carry on like this Midlothian is going to be full”.
Housing projections for the future in West Lothian schedule another 12,000 homes in the county by the end of the next decade.
A spokesperson told the LDRS: “The council has begun the process of preparing a new Local Development Plan for West Lothian – LDP2.
“The new plan will set out planning policies and proposals for the use and development of land including setting an ambitious target to deliver an additional 12,500 new homes across West Lothian a minimum of 25% of which will be affordable.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
