The housing association secured the social rent homes as part of the wider Hallrig Heights development by local construction company Hayhill Developments, which has completed 67 homes for sale on site.

The mixed development of two, three and four-bedroom homes will be a welcome addition to the association’s stock and go some way to meeting the demand for affordable family homes in the area.

Chief executive of Ayrshire Housing, Lesley-Anne Junner, said: “Families love living in rural locations so having the opportunity to provide affordable living in villages like Tarbolton is a major achievement for us.

“These homes are amongst the most energy efficient we have built so far, so not only will our new tenants benefit from living in a fantastic environment they will also be extremely cost effective to live in.”

All the homes are fitted with air-source heat pumps with electric heating throughout and are fitted with ventilation and sprinkler systems. The homes also benefit from parking for two cars per home with electric charging points installed.

“This is an example of how we plan to future-proof all our new homes by ensuring they are clean and green, giving our new tenants fast broadband connectivity and affordable energy efficient heating,” Lesley-Anne Junner.

Ayrshire Housing was established in 2003 through the merger of Carrick Housing Association and South Ayrshire Homes. Since then it has grown rapidly to become one of the area’s leading providers of high quality, affordable rented housing managing 1700 homes in both urban and rural environments.

Hayhill Developments technical director, Gavin Watson, said: “Hayhill Developments were pleased to be jointly involved with Ayrshire Housing on this project which delivered a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced properties in both single and two storey forms, all of which were designed to meet the varying requirements of AH’s tenants. We are particularly pleased with how the completed project blends and integrates well within our overall development at Hallrig Heights and offer well wishes to both the new tenants and Ayrshire Housing.”

John and Nicola McCubbin were two of the first tenants to get their keys.

“The house is fully wheelchair accessible it’s just perfect, I love it,” said Nicola.