North Lanarkshire Council held a sod cutting event to mark the beginning of construction of the homes at Lochlea Road.

Comprising one and two bedroom apartments, the £1.7 million development is being delivered by Lovell Partnerships and forms the latest phase of the council’s NL Homes programme and marks another step to meeting its plans to build more than 2,000 new homes.

Attending the sod cutting were housing convener, Councillor Barry McCulloch, Councillor Tom Johnstone and Councillor Stephen Grant, together with representatives from Lovell.

Councillor McCulloch said: “NL Homes supports our vision to provide affordable, good quality homes within safe and sustainable communities for the people of North Lanarkshire.

“I am very proud that we have been able to commit investment in new and improved housing while managing to keep rents well below the Scottish local authority average.

“I look forward to seeing more sites taking shape and becoming part of local communities. I’m confident we’ll continue to deliver on our pledge to build more modern affordable homes for North Lanarkshire’s residents.”

All of the new homes are built with energy efficiency in mind, achieving at least a ‘good’ eco rating to help minimise running costs for tenants. In addition, they meet Housing for Varying Needs specification which means homes are more accessible to adapt to tenants’ mobility needs. The homes are also ‘Secured by Design’ accredited, which involves Police Scotland architectural liaison officers having input into the layout and designs to ensure we build safe and secure environments.

Lovell acting regional director, Adam Forrest, added: “We are proud to be working with North Lanarkshire to create these much-needed homes for local people through the council’s major new build programme. Lovell possesses considerable expertise in the successful delivery of well-designed, modern and energy-efficient housing, built to a high standard.”

A contribution is received from the Scottish Government towards the development costs at each site.