At a meeting of the council’s Community Services Committee yesterday, members also heard how there have been 62 affordable houses completed during the third quarter of the year.

Twenty of these homes are in Bowmore, Islay; 16 are in Lochgilphead; and 26 are in Succoth. A further 41 homes are due to be completed by the end of next month.

Policy lead for housing, Councillor Robin Currie, said: “I’m delighted to see such positive figures from our housing services team. There have been many successes in the service over the last 12 months, and the team has worked extremely hard to make these happen.

“Together with our partner housing associations, we’ve been working hard to develop our Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) to create affordable housing and encourage people to move, stay and work in Argyll and Bute.

“The SHIP delivers on so many levels and it’s fantastic to see it all coming together.”