378 empty homes have been brought back into use during 2023/24 - significantly above the annual target of 200, while 384 new homes are reaching completion, significantly above the annual target of 295.

A report presented to the cabinet last week showed that 378 empty homes have been brought back into use during 2023/24 - significantly above the annual target of 200, while 384 new homes are reaching completion, significantly above the annual target of 295.

The five-year Council Plan is seen as the council’s contract with its communities and lays out the priorities for the areas over the coming years and how the authority will work with partners, including communities, to deliver these.

The plan was approved by cabinet last year, following consultation with residents, with four main priorities driving the delivery of the services – Wellbeing; Communities and Local Democracy; Climate Change; and A Sustainable Council.

The report shows that the council has made strong progress across all four priority areas. In addition, performance relative to similar local authorities is strong and the Council will continue to learn from others to improve the lives of our people in North Ayrshire and ensure a North Ayrshire that is fair for all.

Among the main highlights are:

• The establishment of a Financial Inclusion Partnership to increase access to financial advice and support for residents.
• 36,366 trees planted as part of the 2030 Woodland: A Tree Planting Strategy
• £560,509 in financial gains delivered to parents through a School Welfare Rights Officer (over £1.6m since the project began), who provides financial advice and assistance to parents and carers. As a result, two additional posts were approved this year.
• Provision of a £50 clothing grant to all eligible three and four-year-olds in Early Years during the 2024/25 school year to help with the cost of living.
• £130,000 funding awarded to four community renewable projects through the Community Renewable Energy Generation Fund
• Construction now under way on the council’s two solar PV farm developments at Shewalton and Nethermains.
• Figures show that 68% of its 33 Local Government Benchmarking Framework priority indicators with data available have improved in the past year. In addition, 60% have improved over three years and 93.75% have improved over the last 10 years. 
• The first Best Value Thematic Audit showed the council “continued to demonstrate a strong culture of continuous improvement” with engagement with communities in creating the Council Plan highlighted.

North Ayrshire Council chief executive Craig Hatton said: “The Council Plan is our commitment to our residents.

“It sets out what we want to achieve in partnership with our communities and how we will go about doing that.

“Although this is a five-year plan, it’s very pleasing to see strong progress that has been achieved in its first year.”