Houses project will be good for town

Council bosses have secured a range of community benefits as part of the contract for their first house build project in a generation.

Eight new jobs and 13 work experience placements will be created as part of the agreement with contractor CCG (Scotland) Ltd during the building of 43 new council homes at Robertson Street, Fenwick Drive and Blackbyres Court, Barrhead.

East Renfrewshire Council says the project is part of the its commitment to deliver 240 homes for social rent over the next five years.

Work has already started at the Robertson Street site and it is due to be complete by winter 2018.

Throughout the building works, a range of learning opportunities for East Renfrewshire schools will be developed by the company, giving young people the opportunity to learn about careers in different areas of the construction business, including project management.

Barrhead’s Business Improvement Distri c t (BID) will also benefit from the partnership with CCG (Scotland) Ltd. A new intern is to be appointed to work on town centre initiatives in Barrhead, with part of the salary being sponsored by the firm.

Councillor Danny Devlin, convener of Housing and Maintenance at East Renfrewshire Council, said: “We are delighted to be developing more homes for social rent.

“The council always looks to achieve best value with all contracts, and this includes the commitment from suppliers to support the communities of East Renfrewshire.”