Melville Housing Association is to deliver 21 high-quality affordable homes thanks to a £2.8 million deal with homebuilder Taylor Wimpey East Scotland.

Construction recently got underway on the new properties at Taylor Wimpey’s Harvieston Park development in Gorebridge. The new homes will help meet the high demand for social housing in Midlothian, where there are currently over 4,000 individuals and families on the housing waiting list.

Andrew Noble, chief executive of Melville Housing, said: “These new affordable homes, made possible thanks to Scottish Government funding and support from Midlothian Council, will be a welcome boost to the local area.

“The huge numbers on Midlothian’s social housing waiting list demonstrate the desperate need for good quality, affordable housing and we will continue to do everything we can to respond to this demand.”

The new properties, which are expected to be complete by early 2019, will mainly consist of two bedroom flats and three bedroom houses suitable for smaller and average-sized families.

The overall cost of the project is £2.8m, with slightly more than half (£1.58m) coming from a Scottish Government grant. The remainder of the project will be funded by Melville Housing’s own finance.

Pauline Mills, land and planning director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to be working once again with Melville Housing Association in order to deliver much needed affordable housing in the Midlothian area. We’ve enjoyed a successful partnership with Melville Housing Association over many years, and the provision of 21 new homes in Gorebridge signals another great opportunity for our organisations to work together successfully.”

This latest project builds on an already successful partnership in Midlothian between Melville Housing and Taylor Wimpey, which, once completed, will have delivered almost 100 high quality, affordable homes across the local area.