WORK has commenced on the construction of 64 new homes at the former site of Greenock Health Centre.

Sanctuary Scotland is working alongside Scottish Government and Inverclyde Council to transform the land on Duncan Street.

The development will feature a mixture of one, two and three-bed flats and houses, all of which will be available for social rent.

John Arthur, voluntary board member at Sanctuary Scotland, said: “Challenging market conditions such as high levels of inflation have led many contractors across the UK to cease trading.

“To ensure we can continue to deliver new homes without delay, we’ve invested in our own in-house construction team.

“Not only does this give us greater control over the build process and quality, but it also means we can start on-site sooner and bring much-needed new affordable homes to local communities more quickly.”

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The project, which is supported by a £6.9 million grant from the Scottish Government, is expected to take around 18 months to deliver.

It is hoped the first homes will be complete by early spring of 2026.

Four of the flats at the site have been designed to accommodate people with accessibility needs.

The development will be Sanctuary Scotland’s fifth newbuild scheme in Inverclyde as the housing association continues to play its part in meeting the established need for more affordable housing in the area.

Councillor Michael McCormick, convenor of environment and regeneration at Inverclyde Council, said: “This is a prominent site in a good, central Greenock location that’s ripe for redevelopment.

“This project is a key element of the council’s five-year strategic housing delivery programme for Inverclyde, so it’s great to be celebrating the start of work with our partners Sanctuary.

“It has been well documented that there is a housing emergency in Scotland and while we are fortunately not in that position here, the prospect of 64 new, affordable homes for Greenock and Inverclyde is a positive boost for the area.”

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Housing minister Paul McLennan added: “I’m pleased that work has started on 64 new social rented homes at the Duncan Street development in Inverclyde.

“Good quality housing is essential to attract and retain people in our communities.

“We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032 with at least 70% for social rent and 10% in our rural and island communities.”