Cumbernauld was the location for the official opening of North Lanarkshire Council’s latest completed council housing development.

Provost of North Lanarkshire, Councillor Jean Jones, unveiled the plaque at the site of Cardowan Drive, Blackwood, Cumbernauld, marking the completion of thirty new houses. These include a mix of two, three and four bedroom semi-detached homes and one and two bedroom cottage flats.

This is the 19th housing development delivered by the council as part of its NL Homes programme, which will now see the local authority more than double its current commitment of new build homes to 5,000 homes to be built by 2035.

Opening the door of their new home was happy tenant Hector Smith. Hector and his wife, Brenda, have moved into one of the semi-detached properties.

“We’re absolutely delighted with our new home,” said Hector. “We moved here from a four-in-a block with a communal entry and having our own front and back door is fantastic. I love DIY and have been busy making our new house a home.

“Both Brenda and I really enjoy pottering about in our garden. Our grandchildren love playing here too. It was more difficult while we were living in our flat but having this outdoor space has made all the difference. We’re hoping for a fabulous summer so we can make the most of our new garden.”

Warmly welcoming tenants, local elected members and guests to the opening was Councillor Allan Graham, convener of enterprise and housing.

Attending were Des Murray, assistant chief executive; Brian Lafferty, head of business; Stephen Llewellyn, head of housing solutions; Pam Humphries, housing development manager, all from the council’s enterprise and housing resources service; local elected member, Councillor Tom Fisher; Scott Mercer, regional commercial director; Steve O’Grady, project manager; Kevin McColgan, regional operations director and Ewan Kelly, assistant site manager, all from developer Lovell Partnerships Ltd.

Provost Jones said: “I’m delighted to have been involved in the official opening of these new homes and it’s lovely to hear of the positive experiences of the tenants living here.

“It’s a privilege being welcomed by Mr. Smith into his new home and its pleasing to see the high quality design and finish of these new, modern homes.

“North Lanarkshire Council is proud of the difference it’s making in providing more affordable homes across all of its communities and we’ll continue to roll out our NL Homes programme, which has now been further expanded, to improve the lives of our residents.

“I wish all of our tenants living here a very happy future in their new homes.”

All the new homes are built with energy efficiency in mind to help minimise running costs for its tenants. In addition, the new builds also boast dementia friendly design features, including contrasting colours between kitchen units and flooring.

They meet Housing for Varying Needs standards and are Secured by Design accredited.

Stephen Profilli, regional director for Lovell in Scotland, added: “We have been working with North Lanarkshire Council for almost 13 years so we are very pleased to have worked together again to deliver much-needed homes in Cumbernauld. Built to the Building Standards Sustainability Level of Silver, the mixture of cottage flats and semi-detached homes provides energy-efficient and modern living suited to the varying needs of residents.

“Lovell has considerable experience delivering well-designed, modern and energy-efficient housing, and we are delighted to have delivered a further 30 new homes for social rent in Cumbernauld as part of North Lanarkshire’s ongoing programme to address the shortage of high quality affordable housing in the area.”

The Scottish Government contributes towards the development costs at each site.