A new development of 39 modern council homes in Johnstone is now almost complete – with the first tenants expected to move in over the next few months.
The new development at Auchengreoch Road in Spateston will include a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses, and one and two-bed cottage flats.
The spacious modern homes have been designed to meet a range of needs – with some specially designed to be wheelchair accessible.
They have also been designed to be energy-efficient and include solar panels on the roofs – which will help keep down the fuel bills of tenants and contribute to the area’s net-zero targets.
This is the latest new-build investment by Renfrewshire Council – with similar developments delivered at Johnstone Castle (95 homes) and Bishopton (80 homes) over the past two years, and 101 new homes currently being built in the Tannahill area of Ferguslie Park in Paisley.
Councillor Marie McGurk, convener of the council’s Communities, Housing and Planning Board, visited the Auchengreoch Road site to see the nearly-finished houses for herself.
While there, she also visited the site of the former Cochrane Castle Primary School, which has been earmarked as a preferred location for potential new homes in the Howwood Road area.
Howwood Road is one of the areas covered by the first phase of the council’s ten-year 100m Housing Regeneration and Renewal Programme, which will see comprehensive improvements to existing council houses in eight areas across Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone, with selected demolition and new-build planned in some of the areas.
At their budget meeting earlier this month, councillors approved the biggest investment in Renfrewshire’s housing for a generation, when they agreed a £266m five-year capital investment plan covering how investment in new-builds and existing housing will be funded.
Councillor McGurk said: “I was delighted to get to visit the new homes in Auchengreoch Road and to hear more about how our latest investment in new-build housing was developed.
“The quality of the new homes matches our ambitions for Renfrewshire to be recognised as a great place to live, work and invest.
“The new homes are in a great location – close to the main road, bus routes and Milliken Park station, and within walking distance of several local primary and secondary schools.
“I was really impressed both with the size of the homes, and with the attention to detail – they have been designed to meet the needs of our tenants for 21st-century living.
“It was also interesting to hear more about the work being done to scope out the potential for new-builds nearby at Howwood Road – one of several areas of Renfrewshire which will see comprehensive improvements to the quality of council housing in the years ahead.
“That programme will look beyond the condition of the houses and will work with residents to consider how we can improve outdoor areas and create nicer places to live.”
The new homes at Auchengreoch Road have been delivered by McTaggart Construction on behalf of the council.
The other areas covered by the Housing Regeneration and Renewal Programme are Auchentorlie Quadrant/Seedhill Road, Howard Street area, Waverley Road in Foxbar, Thrushcraig area, Ferguslie/Broomlands area, and the Springbank area (all Paisley) as well as Moorpark in Renfrew.
More information on that programme is at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/housing-regen-programme