New council homes on former St Mary's site make progress

We previously reported that North Ayrshire Council secured £4million in Scottish Government funding from their Affordable Housing Supply Programme to build 26 homes on the site of the former St Mary's Primary School.

Initially, the site was to be developed for social housing, people seeking refuge from the war in Ukraine and, thereafter, for allocation through the North Ayrshire Housing Register.

But now locals on the housing register will be given priority and some Ukranian families will be homed at the development.

READ MORE: Field of Dreams as long awaited housing plan revealed for Largs

The St Mary’s Primary School site, on Linn Avenue, was initially earmarked for an innovative housing programme, called Home Ownership Made Easy or HOME, which would have allowed tenants to own a partial stake in their home.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the worldwide rise in construction costs and inflation, means that the HOME scheme is no longer financially viable, requiring an alternative future to be found for the site.

The new homes, which are expected to be completed by spring 2025, will be the latest addition to the local authority's house-building programme delivering more than 1,600 new homes across North Ayrshire.

Once complete, the development will be a natural extension to the neighbouring 123-unit Flatt Road development which was completed in 2022.

Councillor Tony Gurney, cabinet member for Green Environment and Economy at North Ayrshire Council, said: “The development at Largs is an exciting expansion to our already ambitious development programme.

“The 26 new homes on the site of the former St Mary’s Primary School will complete the regeneration of the former Largs school sites, creating a modern, cohesive and inclusive space for our residents.”

The new homes, which will be available for affordable rent from the council, will provide a mix of two and three-bedroom amenity and general needs homes.