Aberdeen City Council has appointed a contractor to build the city's first new council housing in a generation.

Stewart Milne Construction will build 85 homes at Hayton Road in Tillydrone, Byron Park in Northfield and Rory Hall in Cults in the first phase of the council's new-build programme.

Housing and environment convener Aileen Malone said: "The appointment of Stewart Milne Construction, which follows a robust tendering process, means that work can now begin on building these much-needed new homes.

"I'm sure that everyone who is waiting for an affordable rented home will be as excited as I am at the prospect of seeing this new social housing taking shape. This will be a great boon to many families who are waiting for affordable rented housing in Aberdeen.

"The city is in real need of good, new homes and I am delighted that building work will very soon begin. I look forward to welcoming the first families into these new properties, which will be built to a high standard next year."

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Vice-convener Mark McDonald added: "This is another important step on the road to developing new affordable council homes, which will help to regenerate the communities where they are being built.

"Many people, myself included, have grown up in a time when council housing was sold off, and never built, now we are building again to provide homes for the people of Aberdeen and I think that is truly exciting."

Thirty new homes, consisting of a mix of home types and sizes, including two and three-bedroom family properties, will be built on the Hayton Road site to provide much-needed new housing in Tillydrone.

Byron Park, where a mixture of 28 homes including three and four-bedroom family properties will be built, will be developed as a Homezone scheme with a courtyard layout to encourage social interaction and create sheltered, useable external spaces.

Twenty-seven amenity-standard flats will be built at Rorie Hall. They will be one and two bedroom properties with gardens for the ground floor residents and balconies on the first and second floors. The development will include communal and private outdoor space for the residents.

All of the properties will be built to a high standard and will be environmentally sustainable, quality homes.

Bill Imlach, managing director of Stewart Milne Construction said: "As a local contractor, we are delighted to have been awarded these contracts by Aberdeen City Council. These projects are a welcome boost for the division, particularly in the current economic conditions.

"We intend to incorporate some of the latest sustainable technologies and specifications to ensure energy efficiency and low running costs for the tenants.

"It's been some time since the authority has been in a position to commission new housing and we look forward to working with them to provide high quality homes."

(GK)