Both associations have a Strategic Collaborative Working Agreement, whereby Fife-based Kingdom acts as the development partner and transfers the completed homes to Ochil View who own, manage and maintain the finished houses.

The main advantage of the agreement is that it will provide additional new affordable homes in the Clackmannanshire area, to meet growing needs.

The arrangement also allows Kingdom to enhance its development and procurement capacity without compromising its own development plans in the area and it provides Ochil View with the opportunity to increase its housing stock, without having to employ specialist development staff, or undertake the risks associated with the development process.

The 11 new social rented homes in Sauchie were completed at the end of May and have been developed to a high design and specification standard. All the homes have been fitted with PV panels and designed to achieve the Scottish Government’s Greener Standard of Sustainability. The project cost £1.8 million with over 50% of the funding being provided in subsidy from the Scottish Government.

Tom Brown, Ochil View’s chairperson, said: “This is our first partnership project with Kingdom and we have been very pleased to pool resources with them. This project has been a great success and I would commend Kingdom’s approach and their development skills.

“The properties are of a very high standard and initial feedback has confirmed that our tenants are delighted with their new homes.

“We look forward to continuing with this partnership approach to develop other sites including building new homes on land currently owned by the Association at Elm Grove in Alloa.”

Tom added: “There is currently a huge shortage of housing in Scotland and we are pleased to take a step, however small, in addressing this issue which will also assist the government in meeting its target of delivering 35,000 affordable homes by 2021.”

Laurie Naumann, vice chair with Kingdom, said he hoped the tenants who had moved into the new properties enjoyed their new homes and benefited from their high specification. He also spoke about how all housing associations share the same objective of providing homes to meet housing needs and how the collaborative arrangement between Kingdom and Ochil View facilitates delivery of this objective.

Laurie added: “The development process is much more complex than it was a few years ago. Through working in partnership housing associations can ensure high quality affordable new homes are provided by utilising the expertise within established housing associations and optimising the borrowing capacity available to the sector.”

The Sauchie project, which was designed by local firm Bracewell Stirling Architects and built by Alloa-based Marshall Construction, is the first project to be completed as part of the collaborative agreement. However, Kingdom will also be starting on site this year with two further projects which will transfer, on completion, to Ochil View.

Overall Kingdom has plans to deliver over 200 new homes in Clackmannanshire over the next three years.