The 85 affordable new homes, all for social rent, are part of a £14.6 million development with funding of £7.3 million provided by the Scottish Government.

The new homes will form part of a larger residential led mixed-use development being overseen by Advance Construction and is expected to include a total of 850 homes as well as retail, business and industrial units.

Ms Robison was welcomed to Kingdom Housing Association’s headquarters in Glenrothes by the association’s chair Linda Leslie and group chief executive Bill Banks to learn more about the association and the project before the site tour in the town.

The development will cater for the needs of the local community by incorporating a range of housing designs, including larger family homes and homes suitable for older people or tenants with particular housing needs. Kingdom’s new homes have been designed with the current and future needs of residents in mind and will offer properties that can adapt as the needs of the tenants change.

When asked about the development in Glenrothes, Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “This development will support the local community and make a real and lasting difference to the lives of the new residents.

“It is a testament to the strong partnership at national and local level between the housing association, Fife Council, Campion Homes and the Scottish Government. These 85 new homes for social rent, supported by £7.4 million of Scottish Government funding, are being built to a very high environmental standard with low tenant running costs.

“We are proud of delivering 111,750 affordable homes since 2007 with over 78,000 for social rent. Progress has now started towards our next ambitious target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% will be for social rent and 10% in remote, rural and island communities.”

The properties, being built by Campion Homes, will benefit from low carbon heating supplied from the Glenrothes Heat Network which takes steam generated as a by-product from the local Markinch CHP biomass plant which uses recycled timber to generate power. The innovative district heating system contributes to the objectives in Kingdom Net Zero Strategy

Kingdom chair, Linda Leslie, added: “This exciting new development of affordable properties for social rent in Glenrothes provides residents with homes which are not only safe and secure but also highly energy efficient. One of Kingdom’s strategic objectives is our commitment to sustainability and all of the new homes will benefit from low carbon heating and solar panels and public electric vehicle charging points will be provided.”

Various community benefits have been included as part of the contract, including employment and training opportunities. During the site visit, coordinated by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), there was an opportunity to meet some of the apprentices working on the Glenrothes site as well as find out more about the low carbon heating generated by the nearby biomass plant.

Sally Thomas, CEO of the SFHA, commented: “I was delighted to support our member Kingdom Housing Association in welcoming the Cabinet Secretary to this impressive new housing development, which will provide much-needed safe, warm, affordable homes for rent to the local community.

“Housing associations and co-operatives excel at creating and maintaining exactly this kind of adaptable, energy-efficient housing which helps tackle climate change as well as giving people affordable, high-quality homes.”

The project is scheduled to complete in April 2023 with phased handovers planned prior to final completion.