A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Monday at Afton Court, Stevenston, to mark the official start of construction work to build six new amenity bungalows.

This £1.3 million development, which has received over £600,000 of Scottish Government funding, officially started on site in January and is expected to be completed in late summer 2023.

The project will deliver modern, energy efficient homes which will be built using cutting-edge and environmentally-conscious techniques.

Connect Modular, part of the Ayrshire-based Wee House Group, has been appointed as the contractor to build the homes.

Provost Anthea Dickson officially marked the start of the development which will see the creation of one and two-bedroom homes on the site of the former Afton Court Sheltered Housing Unit.

Councillor Tony Gurney, cabinet member for place at North Ayrshire Council, said: “We’re delighted to see work start on this site, bringing much-needed new amenity homes to the Three Towns.

“Connect Modular have an innovative approach to building homes which is mindful of the environment and cuts down on waste. The development at Afton Court forms yet another part of our ambitious house-building programme which is seeing new homes created in every part of North Ayrshire.”

This will be the second time North Ayrshire Council has partnered with The Wee House Group to deliver new affordable housing using its innovative modular construction method. In 2019, The Wee House Company constructed 31 modular, affordable homes for North Ayrshire Council on Ardrossan Road, Seamill.

Jennifer Higgins, managing director at Connect Modular, added: “We’re thrilled to be working again with North Ayrshire Council.

“The use of modular construction improves build quality and means homes will be available for occupancy earlier. This time we are taking things a step further by completing external cladding in the factory.

“It’s great to see North Ayrshire Council, once again, embracing this evolution in construction.”

The modular construction method employed by the company takes the home-building process offsite and into a controlled factory environment. All bungalows will be constructed inside Connect Modular’s Ayrshire-based manufacturing facility with kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing and electrics all pre-fitted.

The houses will then be split into modules, transported to site and craned into position for the final part of the building work to be completed. One of the notable advantages of this modern construction method is its environmental sustainability – there is much less waste compared to traditional building methods, while 67% less energy is required to produce a modular building.

In addition, tenants of the bungalows are expected to benefit from energy efficient homes thanks to the ultra-insulated building envelope and the installation of air-source heat pumps and photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Connect Modular has also signed up to the council’s Community Benefits Policy which will provide training opportunities and utilise local suppliers and tradespeople where possible.