NEW homes have been built in North Lanarkshire. 

The 19 high-quality homes in Muirhead will help local people in housing need, following the first handover of seven new homes on a project involving Persimmon West Scotland and Sanctuary Scotland.

The mixture of two and three-bedroom homes is now in the care of Sanctuary Scotland.

The handover is part of a more extensive plan where a total of 44 new homes from the Royale Meadows development will be transferred to the housing association to alleviate North Lanarkshire's 12,000 housing waitlist.

Craig Moore, land director at Persimmon West Scotland, met with Gillian Lavety, development director from Sanctuary Scotland, as the first homes were transferred.

Mr Moore said: “These initial 19 high-quality, energy-efficient new homes show the benefits of working in partnership to increase the supply of housing for local people across a variety of tenures.

“As well as the homes that have now been handed over to Sanctuary Scotland, the price of our homes for sale is typically 20% below the average price of a new build in Scotland, creating more affordable routes to home ownership for families in North Lanarkshire.

“We’ll continue to work closely with our local partners to ensure our investment in the local area makes a positive and lasting difference to communities across North Lanarkshire.”

Ms Lavety said: "We’re committed to providing good-quality, affordable homes for those who need them.

"As well as delivering on this mission through our own developments, we’re always keen to work with our partners to enable the construction of more new homes for local people.

“Royale Meadows will help meet the established need for more affordable homes in North Lanarkshire and it’s fantastic to see the first properties being handed over to residents.”