The social landlord will shortly be starting work on site to deliver the new homes for rent.

The one and two-bedroom flats are designed to be as net zero as possible with solar panels and energy efficient electric boilers. They also come with EV charging parking spaces with two of the ground floor flats wheelchair accessible. All the other ground floor apartments are mobility-friendly to suit older tenants.

The homes are on Green Street and North Harbour Street, just to the north of the River Ayr in the harbour area of town. The site of a former builders’ merchant, around half of the new flats will enjoy riverside views across Ayr Marina.

“We have a proven record of expanding our housing stock to provide much needed affordable housing and this is just the first of 91 new homes outlined for construction in our 2030 Business Plan,” said Ayrshire Housing chief executive, Lesley-Anne Junner.

The other new homes are planned for Maybole, Coylton and Kirkmichael. The association also plans to bring 50 more existing properties into the social rented sector.

Ayrshire Housing was established in 2003 through the merger of Carrick Housing Association and South Ayrshire Homes. Since then, it has grown rapidly to become one of the area’s leading providers of high quality, affordable rented housing, managing 1700 homes in both urban and rural environments.

“These new homes will be constructed with the very latest insulation techniques and state-of-the-art heating technology to ensure our new tenants’ energy use is kept to a minimum, helping to keep more money in their pockets,” added Lesley-Anne.

The development is being constructed by Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd with support from Clancy Consulting and TCS Construction Consultants to a design by Denham Youd Architects. The project is supported by South Ayrshire Council and with grant funding from the Scottish Government.