South Ayrshire Council is taking forward a £900,000 project to transform flats in Wallacetoun as part of a project to deliver energy efficient homes.

The council recently secured £500,000 from the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) that is being used to help fund the project. The work will improve energy efficiency at 123 properties by replacing external cladding in buildings that are hard to adapt internally.

Tenants and residents living in flats in Kings Court, Limonds Wynd, Philip Square, and Russell Drive in Wallacetoun will benefit from greater insulation at no personal cost, with expected savings of £200 savings per year expected to be delivered through improved energy efficiency.

Councillor Philip Saxton, South Ayrshire Council’s portfolio holder for housing and customer services, said the investment would make a real difference to the quality of peoples’ lives: “We’re committed to help people live in warm, dry, energy efficient homes, and this work will help to deliver significant savings for years to come.

“We’re targeting flats that we know will benefit from reduced running costs, while the new external insulation will also help to refresh the building’s exteriors, combining to make the properties more attractive places to live in the long-term.

“We’ll be working with householders in the next few weeks to let them know exactly how the work will affect them, and I’m confident the benefits on offer will be warmly welcomed.”

The project is part of a three-phase programme that will eventually benefit 191 properties in Wallacetoun, an area identified as experiencing high levels of fuel poverty.

Work on the first two stages is expected to begin in January 2017, and scheduled to last for six months.

The final stage of work, for a further 68 properties, is expected to be completed in 2017-18.