Works have begun at Meagher Court in Cumnock on the first project to benefit from East Ayrshire's Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) programme under the Ayrshire Growth Deal, retrofitting three entire blocks of flats into modern, low‑carbon and energy‑efficient homes.

CoRE is funded with £17 million from the UK Government and £7.5 million from East Ayrshire Council as part of the £251 million Ayrshire Growth Deal, a 10‑year investment programme jointly backed by the UK and Scottish governments and the three Ayrshire local authorities.

Supported by £3.95 million from the Ayrshire Growth Deal for energy efficiency measures, the Meagher Court scheme will deliver whole‑building insulation, external and internal upgrades, a solar PV array with battery storage and the decarbonisation of heat across the three blocks using a ground source heat pump system. Accessibility adaptations will also be included to future‑proof the buildings and improve access for older and disabled residents.

The retrofit will be delivered in three phases, each building on the results of the last. Phase one is expected to complete by Summer 2026, phase two by the end of the year, and phase three by the end of Summer 2027. Three blocks of 12 homes will benefit. The first block has attracted £420,000 from the Scottish Government's Social Housing Net Zero Fund towards retrofit measures, with a further £186,000 secured from the UKRI Centre for Net‑Zero High Density Buildings and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to support academic partners and enhanced monitoring and evaluation.

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Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council and Chair of the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee, welcomed the start on site.

He said: "CoRE aims to showcase how a green recovery can transform our rural towns and villages and make our communities better connected, with healthier and improved standards of living.

"Cumnock and Doon Valley is a community which has experienced economic and population decline and a primary focus of CoRE is to maximise the socio-economic and community health and wellbeing benefits associated with the net-zero transition.

"This retrofit project will help tackle fuel poverty by making these homes more energy efficient and comfortable for people to live in and will ultimately help communities to heat and power their homes more affordably and sustainably."

Councillor Jim McMahon, Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, added: "We cannot underestimate the costs of delivering whole-house retrofit improvements, to transform existing stock into net-zero, energy efficient housing. Delivering a smaller scale demonstrator project like this one in Cumnock will therefore help to mitigate the risks of investing huge capital investment to transition all our housing stock.

"The Meagher Court project builds upon and adds value to the existing Pathfinder project delivered by the Council's Housing Services, in collaboration with the Energy Agency and the learnings and insights from this project, together with outcomes from the Pathfinder, will help shape development of scalable retrofit pathways for wider application across the Council's housing stock."

East Ayrshire Council's Housing Services is working with colleagues in Economic Growth, including the Ayrshire Growth Deal team, on opportunities aligned with CoRE. Pro Cast Group has been appointed as contractor for the Meagher Court development.

Stuart Feay, Operation Director, Pro Cast, said: "We're proud to be partnering with East Ayrshire Council to deliver this project at Meagher Court as part of the CoRE programme in Barshare. For a community with such strong roots in Scotland's mining heritage, there's real significance in now being at the forefront of the transition to low carbon living.

"This project is about more than upgrading homes – it's about reducing energy bills, cutting carbon emissions, and tackling fuel poverty. We're committed to delivering the highest quality of work for tenants and look forward to continuing our partnership with the Council."

Alongside its demonstrator projects, CoRE will deliver wider initiatives and seeks to establish a Centre of Excellence vocational skills academy in the Cumnock and Doon Valley. The centre will address regional skills shortages in renewable and low‑carbon industries through skills development, vocational training and STEM education, creating pathways that connect schools, further education and industry. A partnership consultation is informing the scope and operating model, with construction planned for 2027–28.