The 17-acre site at Port Edgar will ultimately include 49 new homes within the shell of the existing barrack buildings, a community café, space for a local charity and a museum room as a nod to its historic past.

The development, owned by Dunfermline-based charity Lar Housing Trust, has generated huge local interest and has also attracted much attention from within the architecture and housing sectors, such is the complexity of the project. 

Two smaller outbuildings are currently being demolished as part of the first phase of the construction work and the spaces left will eventually serve as parking and gardens. Lar’s

Chief executive, Ann Leslie, said: “This is a really exciting moment for us as we kick off construction at the site. We have already done a considerable amount of clearing work at what was a derelict and abandoned site and we look forward to re-purposing these historic buildings into fantastic, high quality homes.”

The site which has sparked considerable local intrigue includes barracks, officers’ wards, a jailhouse and a hospital wing. Lar recently opened the doors to the site to offer local residents guided tours with over 300 people taking the chance to look round. Such was the demand that three extra days were added to the programme.

Built after WW1 in 1919 the site, sitting directly beneath the Queensferry Crossing, has been used for military and civilian purposes. Its colourful past includes periods of use as a training centre for British and Allied servicemen preparing for the Normandy landings, a minesweeping training centre, a holiday camp for unemployed people and a storage facility for materials during the construction of the Forth Road Bridge.

Mrs Leslie added: “Converting these B-listed buildings into new homes is perhaps our most ambitious projects to date. We hope our plans, which have been warmly welcome by community groups, will breathe new life into the area.”