Dumfries and Galloway Council unanimously agreed to grant planning approval with the company hoping to begin construction in early 2022.

Alba Developments will transform the 28.5-acre site into 200 homes located close to Gretna Primary School, as well as local shops, cafes and restaurants.

Local roads will also be improved along with upgrades to the drainage to reduce existing flooding risk, while the company will also make a contribution to education for the expansion of the local primary school and for the local water reservoir upgraded.

A total of 20% of the development will provide two to four-bed affordable homes surrounded by local amenities and public transport network.

The development will revitalise the currently redundant site that has been earmarked for residential housing in the Local Development Plan since 2014 and build a sustainable new neighbourhood with a mix of two to three-bed bungalows and terraces and three to four-bed family homes as well as elements of open space, playground facilities and the provision of a new cycleway and footpath connections through the new neighbourhood and the surrounding footpath network.

Shane Tickelpenny, managing director of Alba Developments, said: “I want to thank the councillors on the Planning Committee for their support which I hope will allow us to begin construction on the first of these 200 homes in early 2022.

“We’ve already had inquiries from members of the public asking when these houses might be available, which shows how many people want to move to the thriving and growing community in Gretna. It is a wonderful place and I am looking forward to our development adding to that by allowing new families to move to the area.

“The upgrades we will be making to local infrastructure and the contribution we are making to supporting Gretna Primary School are all part of our plans to help the area continue to thrive in the future and we can’t wait to get started.”