A CONTRACT valued at £50 million has now been awarded for the construction of over 200 homes at the maternity ward at Ayrshire Central Hospital.

Ashleigh Construction (Scotland) Limited have been appointed for the project, with work set to commence later this year.

Once completed, the Irvine site will be the largest single new build housing development that North Ayrshire Council has ever delivered.

A 'certificate of lawfulness' was granted for the development earlier this year, pathing the way for the building of 184 new energy-efficient homes for social rent.

A further 16 homes will be built on the land, and the gate houses will also be refurbished to provide two further properties.

North Ayrshire Council bought the land, to the south of Ayrshire Central Hospital, from the NHS in 2021, and demolition work began on the site's maternity residence buildings in April last year.

Prior to this, the buildings lay empty and increasingly derelict for 17 years following the move of services to the new Ayrshire Maternity Unit, at Crosshouse Hospital, in 2006.

The £50m development, supported by around £20m in Scottish Government funding, will include a mix of general needs properties along with homes for wheelchair users and amenity bungalows to meet a wide range of residents’ needs.

The 202 planned new homes on the site are  a key part of the local authority's plan to build 1,625 new homes across North Ayrshire by 2027.

North Ayrshire Council say that, with a construction contractor appointed, work is set to commence later this year. Work on the development is expected to take around two years.

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “Ashleigh Construction (Scotland) Limited have been appointed as the main construction contractor for the new housing development at Ayrshire Central.

“Works are expected to commence later this year, subject to the council receiving confirmation of external funding to support the scheme.”