The much-needed affordable homes have been built on Persimmon’s Fairfields development in Monkton and include a variety of two and three-bedroom properties.

The homebuilder’s West Scotland managing director, Chris Logan, was joined on site by Heather Anderson from Riverside Scotland to mark the completion of the project and meet with local residents to hear how the new affordable homes are already benefitting families in need.

Heather Anderson, head of service delivery at Riverside Scotland, said: “We are excited to be handing over another 50 high-quality, affordable homes for people in South Ayrshire. This is Riverside Scotland’s second major investment in new housing in South Ayrshire after we delivered Scotland’s largest affordable modular housing development, which created 63 new high-quality homes in Dundonald.

“As in most places in Scotland, and the rest of the UK, the demand for social housing across Ayrshire far outweighs supply. In Monkton alone there is a waiting list of almost 900 applicants expressing a demand for social housing in the area.

“Riverside Scotland has been able to ramp up our housebuilding efforts and help to tackle this shortfall in social housing because we are part of the wider Riverside Group which gives us the financial resources to invest more money to deliver new homes. This project was also supported with Scottish Government funding.

“We committed to delivering 300 new homes across Ayrshire over a three-year period and with Monkton complete we will soon be able to say that we have helped 277 households to move off waiting lists into affordable, high-quality new homes.”

Fairfields features a total of 286 energy-efficient new homes, ranging from one to four bedrooms, and the area’s history is woven into the fabric of the development.

The site includes two listed structures and a scheduled monument and the development has been specifically designed to promote the hidden history of Monkton by protecting and maintaining the historic features. Interpretive signage is also being installed to give local residents and visitors a glimpse into the area’s past and preserve the site’s historic significance.

Chris Logan, Persimmon West Scotland managing director, said: “We’re really pleased to have worked with Riverside Scotland to deliver these much-needed, affordable new homes.

“Quality and affordability are at the heart of our Fairfields development – not only does it include 50 homes specifically designed to help local people in housing need, the average price of a Persimmon home is 16% below the average price of a new build in Scotland.

“We’re committed to leaving a positive legacy in the areas we operate in and our partnership with Riverside Scotland has helped to deliver real benefits for the local community.”