Hundreds of new affordable homes are set to be built across South Ayrshire thanks to increased funding from the Scottish Government.

More than £35 million has been allocated to the council over the next three years as part of a £1.75 billion allocation to Scottish local authorities to stimulate investment in affordable housing.

South Ayrshire’s allocation of Resource Planning Assumptions of £10.503m (2018/19), £11.883m (2019/20) and £12.678m (2020/21) represents a significant boost to the monies available to support the building of new, affordable homes, as detailed in the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out the strategic priorities for affordable housing over the next five years.

The current SHIP sets out plans for 600 properties to be delivered using a mix of council and housing association resources, prudential borrowing and central funding.

Work will now get underway to review the proposed programme in response to the increased funding, with an updated SHIP to be submitted to the Scottish Government by the end of October.

Councillor Philip Saxton, South Ayrshire Council’s portfolio holder for housing and customer services, said the investment would make a significant difference.

He added: “We’re committed to ensuring our communities have access to high-quality, warm, attractive and efficient homes and this funding will make a real difference in helping achieve that.

“Over the last 6 years, we have built 233 new council homes across South Ayrshire – including our biggest ever house-building project of 102 new homes at Lochside in Ayr – and it’s incredible to see the impact these are having on improving people’s lives.

“For instance, our most recent development of 29 amenity bungalows, which provide innovative and flexible living space to meet the needs of ageing households, is just one great example of what we can do to provide the kind of homes our communities want and need.

“This council is committed to extending these benefits as widely as possibly by building 600 new affordable homes for social rent over the next five years, and the increase in the available funding – which had been expected to be around £7m per year – will go a long way to helping us deliver on that ambition.

“By building more affordable homes in this way, we will ensure our residents can live in vibrant, inclusive and attractive communities and can enjoy the best quality of life possible.”