Work is underway to build a housing development in East Lothian.

The council has completed a deal worth £8.3m to purchase 71 flats and houses on two sites at Hallhill, Dunbar from Mansell Homes, part of the Balfour Beatty group.

The properties are to be built by local firm Hart Builders.

Work is to begin in August, with the first homes ready by summer 2016 and the whole development completed by autumn 2017.

The sites will form part of the larger Hallhill, Dunbar housing development.

It is one of the housing sites identified in the East Lothian Local Development Plan and has planning consent to deliver 525 houses, 131 of which are required to be 'affordable'.

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Overall, the council is purchasing two of the three sites.

The other site will be bought by the Places for People group which is to provide 60 units.

The units will be delivered by Castle Rock Edinvar, which is part of Places for People and already owns around 80 homes in Dunbar.

The housing will contain energy efficient heating systems and high levels of insulation.

Council housing spokesperson Cllr Norman Hampshire said: "Increasing the supply of good quality affordable housing is key to ensuring our communities thrive and are sustainable. The health and wellbeing benefits of improved energy efficiency in people's homes are also widely recognised. I am delighted that Harts, the East Lothian-based property development firm, will be involved in delivering these new homes and in doing so, creating more jobs for local people."

Ken Macarthur, Mansell Homes Regional Director, added: "As an experienced developer in delivering new homes in both the private and affordable sectors, we are delighted to be working again with both East Lothian Council and Places for People to provide much needed affordable housing to the Dunbar area."

The properties will receive approximately £2.1m in Council House Building Grant from the Scottish Government with the remaining £6.2m being met by the Council.

(LM/CD)