The homes for rent – 44 flats, 39 houses and five purpose-built wheelchair bungalows – are being built by Ogilvie Construction, which won the £7.4 million contract from East Lothian Council, following a competitive tender process.
Phil McEwan, the managing director of Ogilvie Construction, said: “It’s great to see families moving into the first new homes on the site.
“We started building work last autumn and we handed over phase one to the Council – ahead of schedule – in May this year. “We’re now set to hand over the second phase of houses this month (July) – and, all going well, expect to complete over the whole development a little earlier than the planned completion date of February next year.”
He added: “Local people have been impressed by the quality of the new houses. These new properties will go some way to meet some of the high demand for affordable housing in the area.
” East Lothian Council’s cabinet member for housing, Councillor Stuart Currie, said: “This is the first development of new council homes in Dunbar since 1974. It’s great to see the first phases finished ahead of schedule.
“It means that we can start allocating houses and making a difference for our tenants in the area. The quality of the finish within the properties is excellent and the standard of site management provided by Ogilvie has been extremely high. We look forward to the successful completion of the remaining phases.”
Homes on the site range from one-bedroomed flats to three-bedroomed houses. There are also two and three-bedroomed bungalows for wheelchair users.
Community and tenant consultation has been key to the site’s development. An open meeting was held with neighbouring residents and the Council has been working with the local tenants and residents association to resolve community concerns during the construction process.
To date, 70 of the 88 houses have received a £25,000 per unit subsidy from the Scottish Government’s Incentivising Council New Build funding. East Lothian Council are currently awaiting approval of their bid for funding of the remaining 18 houses.
The new homes are being built to similar designs and the high standard of finish as the recently-completed council developments in Musselburgh and Haddington.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The site at Brunt Court comprises:
General needs properties
- 20 x 2 person/ 1 bedroom flats
- 24 x 3 person/ 2 bedroom flats
- 10 x 4 person/ 2 bedroom houses
- 17 x 4 person/ 3 bedroom houses
- 12 x 5 person/ 3 bedroom houses
Homes for people with physical disabilities
- 3 x 4 person/ 2 bedroom wheelchair bungalows
- 2 x 5 person/ 3 bedroom wheelchair bungalows
More details at http://bit.ly/bIciV3 Ogilvie Construction, part of the Ogilvie Group, is one of the leading building firms in Scotland. The privately-owned business has its head office in Stirling, employs more than 400 people and has an annual turnover of around £100 million. It works throughout Scotland and the North of England.