North Ayrshire Council’s cabinet is expected to approve a tender for the external works when it meets on Tuesday.

In 2018, the local authority committed to upgrading Lambie Court and O’Connor Court following a vote by residents.

Since then, council officers have been drawing together plans for the major refurbishment which will include internal and external works.

The external works will be delivered first and are currently expected to get underway in Spring 2020 with completion in Winter 2020.

The £1.5 million external works will see both tower blocks fully re-rendered as it became clear during preparatory investigations that both buildings have experienced water ingress. The work will also include the fitting of new windows.

When re-rendering is finished, it is expected that work will be able to start on the internal refurbishment, which will take approximately one year to complete.

These works will include:

• Full rewiring of flats to current standards including full upgrade of smoke detection
• Installation of replacement central heating
• Kitchen replacement in individual properties, if due within 5 years
• Bathroom replacement in individual properties, if due within 5 years
• Installation of fire suppressant system to individual properties
• Alterations to conceal services, including lowering of ceilings
• Full decoration on completion
• Replacement of flat entrance doors
• Replacement of internal pass doors
• Installation of Infrastructure to allow residents to receive SkyQ

And the following works to common areas:

• Installation of fire suppressant system
• Replacement of door entry system
• Replacement of front and rear common entrance doors
• Decoration and replacement of floor finishes to ground floor entrance areas

Councillor Jim Montgomerie, cabinet member for place, said: “This refurbishment of the high flats will be a major investment in the future of Lambie Court and O’Connor Court, ensuring their long-term viability for years to come.

“Over the past months, we have been putting together the comprehensive programme for the delivery of works. Throughout this process, we have maintained regular contact with our residents, and I’d like to thank them for their co-operation throughout.

“Undoubtedly, there is likely to be some level of disruption when works gets underway, but we fully expect the end result to be worth it. Residents can be assured that we will continue to work closely with them to minimise any convenience and disruption.”