Developer Campbell Homes secured permission to build 28 homes off Catrine Road on a greenfield site that, up until 2024, had been allocated for housing.

East Ayrshire Council’s planning committee gave the firm’s planning application the green light at a meeting on May 31.

The village is known for its ‘ghost street’ of around a dozen empty homes at Woolmill Place, and has suffered from a lack of local services, with no general store or bus service for several years.

No recreational open space has been allocated within the development, with the £100k payment offered ‘in lieu’ of this planning requirement.

The original application would have seen the roads within the development remaining private, with residents liable for maintenance.

That had been primarily because of the unwillingness of the Ayrshire Roads Alliance (ARA) to make the road part of the public network due to questions around the potential issues around retaining walls on the site.

However, the developer and ARA subsequently came to an agreement that will see more detailed information being provided about the roads in order for ARA to accept future adoption and maintenance.

In a report on the application, an officer from the council’s planning department said: “The applicant has noted their willingness to pay the payment in lieu of recreational open space upfront.

“The application will facilitate significant road improvements that will be of benefit to road and pedestrian and pedestrian safety, particularly in providing an accessible link from the proposed development to the village Main Street for pedestrians.

“The development would assist in helping add to the population of the village, and sustain the remaining services, such as Sorn Primary School, and add further vitality to the village.”