The housing minister was welcomed to the old Eastern General site in Edinburgh which provides 231 affordable homes for the city. As well as a tour of the Hillcrest and Bield properties, Kevin Stewart took the opportunity to meet with tenants from both organisations.

Angela Linton, Hillcrest’s group chief executive, said: “We were delighted to welcome Kevin Stewart to our development on Scottish Housing Day. Completed earlier this year, our homes are a mix of social and mid-market rent that provides high quality accommodation to our tenants.

“It was great to see Mr Stewart meet with our tenant who is clearly happy with her new home. Initiatives like Scottish Housing Day and visits from our housing Minister help to promote the work that the housing sector is doing to address the shortage of affordable housing throughout Scotland.”

Housing minister Kevin Stewart said: “I’m delighted to be invited here, on Scottish Housing Day, to view the new build affordable housing by Hillcrest and Bield which completes the development on the former Eastern General Hospital site. These new homes are a very welcome addition to the supply of affordable housing in Edinburgh and the development has been funded with a significant contribution of more than £10 million through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

“Making sure everyone has a safe, warm and affordable home is central to this Government’s drive to make our country fairer and more prosperous and this development demonstrates once again the Scottish Government’s commitment to the provision of new affordable homes.”

Caryn Innes, head of development at Bield, said: “Delivering new affordable housing which meets the needs of the older people in Edinburgh and Scotland is at the very heart of what Bield does. We are pleased to have the opportunity to show our latest development at Fleming Place to Mr Stewart.”

New tenant Mr Tang proudly showed off his new home to the housing minister and said: “I appreciate very much the improvement in the quality of my life as a result of living in a Bield flat.”

Cllr Kate Campbell, housing and economy convener, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Our partnerships with housing associations are incredibly important to delivering our ambitious house building programme. This is another fantastic example of affordable housing and a new community for all ages which we are delighted to have supported by providing around £13m of Scottish Government Grant funding.”

Contractors for the development J Smart & Co. were committed to providing community benefits throughout the construction stages.

Director Alasdair H Ross explained: “We have been delighted to provide training for young people over the various phases of this development. This included nine new start apprenticeships and 18 week work experience placements for 11 through the TOIL scheme.”