The development will be built by the Hadden Group on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council.

Councillor Josh Wilson, chair of South Lanarkshire Council’s housing committee, carried out the ceremonial dig to mark the start of work on the first new local authority homes in the village in more than three decades.

The houses have come about due to planning laws which put an obligation on private developers to make a contribution towards affordable housing provision in the areas in which they are building.

For this development, a partnership has been created between the council and Story Homes who have provided land within their Pentland Reach site.

With planning permission sought and granted late last year following a successful bid for £1,416,000 of Scottish Government funding, housing & technical resources has designed the new homes in house, as a key part of the council’s commitment to have 1000 new affordable homes for rent by 2022.

Councillor Wilson welcomed today’s site start, adding: “The building of new council homes for rent in the rural area represents a delivery on our commitment to the whole of South Lanarkshire under our five-year local housing strategy ‘Affordable Homes, Sustainable Places’.

“The plan sets out important housing requirements for the next five years supporting people to live independently and addressing homelessness.

“Today’s development also specifically addresses one of the challenges facing our rural communities, namely how to boost both its population, and the demographics within that. I am delighted that these new council homes in Biggar will contribute towards that agenda.

“We are grateful to Story Homes and were delighted to take up the offer of land. We have worked closely with them to ensure the transfer was completed safely and in good time, and we will continue to liaise with them throughout the build period.

“Taken alongside our commitment to provide 1000 new homes for rent, I am proud to say that we as a council continue to tackle the housing shortage issue head-on, supporting the provision of a broad range of affordable homes for our communities.”

Adam McNally, land manager for Story Homes (Cumbria & Scotland), added: “Story Homes has worked closely with South Lanarkshire Council regarding the successful servicing and transfer of this piece of land at Pentland Reach. The council has been proactive in the coordination of the land transfer and future build strategy.

“We are committed to providing quality inclusive developments and we are therefore thrilled that the council is able to develop these 24 affordable homes for local people, contributing towards both local and national targets.”

Steven Brady, managing director at Hadden Group, said: “Our team are pleased to be working with South Lanarkshire Council through the Scottish Procurement Alliance Housing Framework to bring our housing expertise to this development to deliver high quality, energy efficient affordable homes.”