The council’s cabinet met on Tuesday to approve the five-year programme, which constitutes an increase of 50 new homes on the previous plan.

With more than 500 new homes already completed and around 350 currently in the process of being built, the council said it is well on the way to meeting that target.

The new SHIP for 2022-2027 includes the provision of an additional 50 new units to contribute further to the Estate Based Regeneration Programme, which aims to breathe new life into local communities.

Councillor Jim Montgomerie, cabinet member for Green New Deal and sustainability, said: “Our housebuilding programme is one of the most ambitious in the UK.

“But it’s not just about building new homes – it’s about building them in a way which helps transform our communities, in a way which is affordable, and in a way which supports our commitments to tackle climate change and to community wealth building.

“In all our new build housing developments, we seek to incorporate energy efficiency measures and renewable technologies.

“Our new homes will benefit from a range of sustainable measures such as small scale district heating schemes, and passive design measures to minimise space heating demand.  By the end of this financial year, we will have installed almost new build 400 homes with solar PV panels, with a further 1,100 planned over the next five years.

“But it’s not just new homes that are benefitting - we have installed solar PV panels on the roofs of 437 existing council houses, saving tenants approximately £115 per year on energy bills, with a further 63 installations in progress.”

The house building programme will take the total investment in council developments to £171.502m during the period 2022 - 2027 and represents council investment of £101.616 million. The Scottish Government has committed to providing North Ayrshire Council with grant funding for the council and its Registered Social Landlord partners of £81.2m. 

The SHIP supports the ambitions of the council’s Regeneration Delivery Plan to drive forward development on strategic regeneration sites, including town centres. The council has acquired the former King’s Arms public house in Irvine Town Centre and will redevelop the site into six amenity flats to encourage town centre living. 

Other town centre projects include the redevelopment of the former Largs Police Station and adjacent former St Colm’s Place Sheltered Housing Complex; the development of the former Springvale depot in Saltcoats; the redevelopment of former sheltered housing complex at Afton Court; and the redevelopment of the Irvine High Flats. 

The SHIP also outlines how projects such as the 123-unit Flatt Road development site in Largs will promote independent living, and will be an exemplar for assistive technology.

The SHIP will support the Health and Social Care Partnership to meet specialist housing need through dedicated projects using the jointly developed supported accommodation model, as part of a wider site mix on other developments. The new SHIP makes provision for delivery of 47 supported accommodation housing units at three different locations, all of which are currently under construction, such as Caley Court in Stevenston.