Work has started on a dozen new affordable homes in an Aberdeenshire village.

Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association is creating ten 3-bedroom houses and two 1-bedroom flats in Strichen, with all 12 properties available for social rent. Graham Construction is building the homes for Sanctuary and began work on site in September.

The £1.65 million project, due to complete in summer 2015, will help to address the acute shortage of affordable housing in the North-East of Scotland. The Strichen homes complement the 62 high priority units Graham Construction is building for Aberdeenshire Council and Sanctuary Scotland in Peterhead. The £7.6m development on the site of Peterhead’s former Craigewan nursing home is also being project managed by Sanctuary.

Roddy Macdonald, Sanctuary’s head of development – Scotland, said: “This project was widely welcomed by Strichen residents and will soon provide much-needed affordable housing in the village.

“We continue to work in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council to improve the area’s housing stock, and look forward to delivering 74 social homes in 2015 across Strichen and Peterhead.”

Local housing provider Tenants First will manage the Strichen homes, located next to the village school. The Scottish Government provided £771,000 and Aberdeenshire Council £140,000 in grant funding towards the project.

Councillor Karen Clark, Aberdeenshire Council’s chair of housing and social work, said: “Affordable housing is key to ensuring we are able to attract key workers to the area as well as providing homes for people on our waiting lists.

“We are working with a range of partners in order to provide homes for people both in major towns and rural areas. The developments in Strichen and Peterhead are part of a significant commitment by Aberdeenshire Council to increase the amount of affordable housing across Aberdeenshire which I am sure will be warmly welcomed by people in these communities.”

Foundation work will continue in Strichen before the first housing kits are erected. The Peterhead project, which also began on site in September, is due to complete in autumn 2015.

Graham Construction’s regional director Gary Holmes said: “It is fantastic for Graham to be working on these high profile projects for one the biggest housing providers in the UK.

“We have worked with Sanctuary on a number of its developments around Scotland and we look forward to continuing our relationship.

“These are very important projects for the local communities of Peterhead and Strichen and we are extremely proud to be involved in the regeneration of these areas.”