Councillors in Aberdeenshire have agreed to set aside £12.7m for three council housing projects in the area.

The first project, in Martin Brae, Inverurie, will see the demolition of 20 temporary accommodation units and a former Air Training Corp Hall. The plans are to construct 24 new council properties on the site, consisting on two two-bed bungalows, two blocks of four flatted properties, five two-bed and seven three-bed semi-detached houses.

Project costs of £3.2m have been agreed for the site and will now proceed to tender. Demolition of the current buildings is expected to take place this month, with work completed by December 2015.

In Westhill, at the Broadshade Development, some 30 council homes are being built by Stewart Milne Homes on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council. Project costs for the scheme stand at £4.2m, with the properties scheduled for completion in March 2015.

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Thirdly, project costs of £5.3m were also agreed for the Craigewen new build housing development in Peterhead. This project will see 42 units delivered on a brownfield site bounded by Ugie Street and St Peter Street, with an additional 11 care properties. The site is jointly owned by the council and Sanctuary Housing Association who will project manage the development on behalf of the local authority.

Works to demolish two blocks of properties at 73 to 79 St Peter Street, and 2 to 20 Ugie Street has already been approved and work is underway.

Welcoming the news, Councillor Jim Gifford, Chair of Policy and Resources, said: "Demand for council houses continues to grow, we have over 8,000 people now on our waiting list for housing.

"Aberdeenshire Council is committed to building more council housing, to a high standard, to support a range of people from families to people with more specialist needs.

"I'm delighted to see these three projects moving forward, which give us a real boost towards achieving our target of double the number of council houses being built by 2018."

(JP)