The £24 million development will include a mix of terraced houses and cottage flats for social rent. Up to 10% of the housing mix will be built to wheelchair exemplar standards, providing accessible homes suited to specific needs.

Larkfield Housing Association (part of the Link group of social enterprises), will manage and maintain the majority of the housing stock, with 71 of the homes to be transferred to Oak Tree Housing Association upon completion.

Link Group Ltd chair, Ross Martin, said: “We look forward to working with the Scottish Government, Oak Tree Housing Association and Inverclyde Council to deliver new, affordable and sustainable homes to the Greenock area, improving housing choices for the local community.”

Housing minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am very pleased that the Scottish Government, in partnership with Inverclyde Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, has secured this key site in Greenock for much needed affordable housing.

“Over the lifetime of this Parliament, we are investing more than £3 billion to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes, including 35,000 for social rent and we are delivering more of the right homes in the right places to meet Scotland’s housing needs. I look forward to seeing this exciting project progress.”

Inverclyde Council’s environment & regeneration convener, Councillor Michael McCormick, added: “This is a significant investment and a major step towards delivering new and affordable homes in Inverclyde.

“These homes will be fully accessible, and the development clearly helps to promote the fact that Inverclyde is a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

A spokesperson from Oak Tree Housing Association said: “We are delighted to be working with Link Group and Larkfield Housing on this project. The new affordable homes will be a welcome contribution to the local community and our respective customers.”