Loreburn Housing Association welcomed Scottish minister for housing & welfare, Margaret Burgess MSP to officially open its newly completed development at Hallam House, Henderson Close in Beeswing.

Working with strategic partners including Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Scottish Government, Loreburn has provided five purpose built, supported housing units plus a dedicated staff base. The new homes incorporate assistive technology and a number of energy efficiency measures including a ground source heat pump. The project was funded by The Scottish Government through its Affordable Housing Supply Programme, securing £212,400 of funding for the region.

In addition to this Dumfries and Galloway Council contributed £25,000 towards the renewable heating system and Loreburn contributed over £700,000 of private finance.

On the day the Minister commented that this was “an exciting development which Loreburn should be proud of”.

Mrs Burgess said: “Hallam House is a fantastic example of the vision and desire to provide supported housing, and I’ve seen first-hand the difference this development will make to the lives of those living here.

“The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the supply of new homes and enabling people to live independently in their own homes wherever possible. These kind of welcoming, connected and integrated housing units are the kind of homes I would encourage all partners involved in the development of housing for assisted living to be building.”

Councillor Craig Peacock, chair of the housing sub-committee, said: “The council is delighted to be a partner with Loreburn and the Scottish Government in developing this innovative project and I am sure the residents will be very happy and secure in such a delightful location and in very impressive homes. This project is just one of 33 new build developments that are in our Strategic Housing Investment Plan which aims to deliver over 600 new affordable homes over the next 5 years. It represents a total capital investment of over £50m and we are grateful for the continued support of the Scottish Government in helping us to deliver these much needed affordable homes.”

The site at Beeswing was already in Loreburn’s ownership and was previously used as a training centre. Planning permission for the new development was secured in April 2013.

From the outset of this project we have worked very closely with Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Social Work Services to design homes that will meet the needs of the new tenants. This development has allowed Dumfries & Galloway Council to provide much needed adapted accommodation for a number of adults, some of whom were being cared for out of region.

The building project was undertaken by local firm TAS Building Supplies and commenced on site in November 2014. After nine months on site the properties were completed to a very high standard. It is hoped that the new tenants will move in around early November 2015.

John McNaught, Loreburn convener, said: “Loreburn are very pleased to have been able to add five affordable houses to the village of Beeswing. We have worked closely with the Contractor, their consultants and our own design team as well as Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Social Work Team to successfully complete these houses. This is a great example of partnership working which we hope to be able to replicate. We hope that our tenants will be very happy in their new homes.”