A former munitions factory near Glasgow is to be transformed into a housing development with 2,500 houses.

The site of the old Royal Ordnance Factory in Bishopton will become the largest brownfield redevelopment in Britain, in a project spanning 15 years.

Defence company BAE Systems has enlisted three builders for the first phase of the project.

Cala, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey will start in September and build the first 600 homes, energy-efficient and with between two and five bedrooms, to go on sale next year.

This comes after BAE invested £32m in cleaning up the road and preparing roads and services.

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Lynda Johnstone, Bishopton project director for BAE, said: "The multi-million pound regeneration programme will see high-quality homes in the area and deliver a new community, which alongside the housing development will include a new primary school, library, community centre, leisure facilities and woodland park to complement the existing friendly, close-knit village feel of Bishopton."

The project is expected to create about 4,000 jobs, many of which will be construction jobs, in its 15-year duration.

In mid-June, concerns broke out that a key part of plans would be delayed.

BAE asked Renfrewshire council to allow it to delay construction of a junction linking the development to the M8 until 651 houses are built and sold.

This would push the construction of the junction, which is required for safety reasons, back into the second phase of the project.

Earthworks will continue until early 2013 and further engineering work is due in 2014.

(NE)