The development on Robertson Street/Cross Arthurlie St, which was the first of three council sites to get underway, is made up of four three-bedroom houses and nine one-bedroom flats, including a fully adapted wheelchair property, and are now home to four families and nine tenants in the 60+ age group.

Along with the homes on Fenwick Drive, they are the first of over 200 social houses which will be constructed in the coming years, with work at Blackbyres Court due to complete in late Autumn.

Evelyn Milligan, 60, was facing homelessness until she received the call from the council’s housing team to confirm she had been allocated one of the new flats.

Evelyn said: “Having worked my entire life, I had to give up my job in 2018 due to a number of health issues. My housing benefit wasn’t enough to cover my rent so I was going to be evicted by my landlord. I had searched for private properties that I could afford and wasn’t finding anything suitable.

“So you can imagine my delight when I took the call from the Housing team offering me this flat. My sister and I were in tears, we couldn’t believe it. I had visions of having to move away from my family, to a place where I would be isolated, but here I am in a lovely flat, with nice neighbours, in a great location and most importantly, I feel safe – I am so happy.”

East Renfrewshire Council leader, Councillor Tony Buchanan, said: “I am delighted to see the first tenants in a generation move into new East Renfrewshire council homes. Hearing Evelyn and other tenants tell us how much of a difference the new houses and flats have made to their lives highlights how important our work to deliver much-needed social housing is.

“East Renfrewshire continues to be popular place to live and with a diverse population who have a range of requirements, it is especially pleasing that we are able to provide a range of different types of homes for families and individuals.”

Councillor Danny Devlin, convener for housing and maintenance at East Renfrewshire Council, added: “It is fantastic to see how Evelyn’s life has changed for the better since moving into her new flat.

“Our aim is to create communities and homes, not just houses, and I am really pleased to see the progress made so far with this ambitious project. I look forward to seeing more homes complete and hearing more positive stories like this one.”