FINAL plans will be unveiled next week for a new £2.7 million housing development on Cumbrae.

Residents are being invited to view the proposals for the 18-home development at St Beya Gardens as part of a specially-arranged exhibition and consultation event.

North Ayrshire Council Housing Services will hold a drop-in session at the DA Hall for islanders to attend on Thursday June 20 between 4 and 6pm.

The event will allow people to raise any questions about the works and development directly with the contractor, as well as view the final plans and property designs, which include a mix of three general needs, nine amenity and six wheelchair-liveable properties.

Work is expected to get underway on construction of the new houses later this year and should be ready for people to move into by winter 2020.

The new homes will benefit from Sunamp heat batteries, which provide affordable heating and hot water.

Other sustainable features include dual zone heating controls, low energy LED lighting and solar photovoltaic panels, which will be installed on homes across the site to provide free electricity for tenants.

In addition, an under-bath waste water heat recovery system will be installed within all properties with bathtubs.

Cabinet Member for Place, Councillor Jim Montgomerie, said: "Here in North Ayrshire, we have one of the most ambitious council house building programmes in the UK.

"We are delighted to be building more Council homes on Cumbrae as we know the residents often have difficulty in accessing affordable housing on the island.

"Across North Ayrshire, we’re building hundreds of modern, energy efficient homes for our residents and the feedback we have received so far on our completed homes has been hugely positive – I’m sure these new homes on Cumbrae will be no different."

The contractor for the site, Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd, was procured through Hub South West, along with three other sites, as part of a procurement strategy to achieve cost savings through economies of scale.

Residents unable to attend the event can view the plans online at www.northayrshire.community/consultationsevents/consultations/ from Friday 21 June until Friday 12 July.