The local authority has delivered 150 new homes on the site where 138 flats stood, transforming the area as part of our ambitious new council house building programme.

The 150 new properties, delivered by contractor CCG (Scotland), are a mix of two and three-bedroom homes; one and two-bedroom cottage flats; three-bedroom wheelchair bungalows, two-bedroom wheelchair cottage flats, a three-bedroom wheelchair house and two-bedroom amenity bungalows.

Nineteen of these are the council’s first net zero homes and feature a range of energy efficiency measures including triple-glazed windows, air source heat pumps which control heating and store hot water and additional PV panels that feed into a battery to allow tenants to store energy for later use and save on their bills.

All the new homes comply with the highest energy efficiency standards, helping tackle fuel poverty. They are also designed to Housing for Varying Needs standards, meaning they are adaptable to suit different tenants’ needs over the years and are Secured by Design accredited.

Housing convener, Councillor Michael McPake, said: “I’ve visited this site during the project build, and I’m delighted to be here to mark its completion. As part of our re-provisioning plans, towers on the site were demolished and replaced by modern, affordable homes. The project created job opportunities for local people, provided community benefits and delivered these fantastic homes.

“We’re also building a greener future for our communities and families and our first net zero homes lead the way in using the latest technologies to make them more energy efficient and to help reduce our carbon footprint.

“We’re committed to transforming towns and communities and delivering on our plans for the future of North Lanarkshire to make it a better place for people to live in, and our council house programme is vital to that ambition.”

This is just one of the developments being rolled out across North Lanarkshire under the new council house building programme which aims to deliver 5,000 new homes by 2035. So far 59 new developments have been completed, delivering 1,482 houses with a further six projects on site.

The project cost £25.5m and is supported by a grant funded contribution of £9.7m from the Scottish Government.

CCG managing director, David Wylie, added: “CCG has been working with North Lanarkshire Council since 2019 and together, through a partnership that has been fostered on collaboration alongside our much-valued partners, we have transformed communities across the region. The completion of Dykehead Road is a significant milestone as its legacy transcends the development; not only is it the largest new build housing project to have been delivered thanks to our partnership, but it is also the first to have adopted the ‘CCG Net Zero Home’ build standard.

“The nineteen net zero homes, a product of four years of research and development, were originally commissioned on a pilot basis to analyse the adoption of enhanced building standards and a non-gas energy strategy. The standard has since become a blueprint for affordable housebuilding in North Lanarkshire, and we look forward to supporting the Council’s net zero transition over the coming years.”