Around £152,600 will be provided from the council’s Innovation Fund to renovate the properties on Barnweil Drive that, when completed, will provide adult supported accommodation that can be allocated by the HSCP.

Barnweil Drive will become one of nine housing hubs across East Ayrshire, which are based on a shared support and responder model. This means that individuals have their own tenancies but supports are shared, for example, response services overnight. The bedsits are located close to the Andrew Nisbet Place responder hub, which will provide social care support to the four individuals.

Councillor Jim McMahon, spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, said: “The decisions taken by cabinet will ensure that the council continues to invest in and develop supported accommodation that will meet current and emerging need. The recent Housing Need and Demand Assessment shows that this model of supported accommodation is the most cost effective way to meet the needs of individuals with high levels of complexity rather than providing traditional 24-hour support.

“But more than that – evidence shows that individuals living in this model are able to make natural relationships that they might otherwise struggle to make and that individuals have flourished and achieved personal goals that their guardians had not thought possible.

“This investment is right for the Council in terms of spend to save but also for the individuals who will benefit from these tenancies. It is hoped that the bedsits will be completely renovated and tenants settled in their new homes within 12 months.”