Irvine and Kilwinning are at the centre of one of the busiest periods of house building

Irvine and Kilwinning are at the centre of one of the busiest periods of house building North Ayrshire has seen in a generation, with council, housing association and private developments together set to reshape both towns over the rest of the decade.

The biggest driver is North Ayrshire Council’s own programme. Cabinet members agreed last autumn to expand the authority’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan, and at that point the council had delivered 975 new homes against a 2025–2030 new-build target of 1,643, with plans to bring developments forward and raise the target to 1,666.

Irvine accounts for a large share of the pipeline. At the former maternity unit site at Ayrshire Central Hospital, 202 new homes are being built, a scheme the council describes as the largest single new-build housing development it has ever delivered.

Close behind is Montgomerie Park on the town’s outskirts, where 188 council homes are planned in a £50 million development expected to be backed by a £25 million Scottish Government grant, with a mix of general needs houses, amenity bungalows and wheelchair-accessible homes. Work was scheduled to begin in spring or summer 2026, with completion expected by spring or summer 2029.

Further council schemes are lined up elsewhere in the town. Future plans include 43 homes on the site of Irvine’s former high flats in Fullarton and a further 32 at Bourtreehill, while 16 units are planned at Redburn Grove through redevelopment of the Gypsy/Traveller site.

In Kilwinning, the council is pressing ahead with the next stage at St Michael’s. A third phase will add 46 new homes on the former school site, on top of the 119 built in the first two phases.

The largest single scheme in Kilwinning is private. Councillors approved a 426-home Persimmon Homes development at West Byrehill, on land earmarked as an employment area by Irvine Development Corporation in the 1970s that never materialised. The approval came with conditions: the road network must be confirmed as suitable before work goes beyond the first 108 homes, and the development will be built in phases starting at the north of the site. Access will be from Pennyburn Road, and the Penny Burn, previously culverted, is to be opened up for biodiversity and drainage, while Cunninghame Housing Association is building a further 72 homes on the site.
North Ayrshire Council approves plans for 400 new homes +2

Traffic has been the main concern raised locally. Kilwinning councillor Scott Davidson flagged worries about road capacity during the planning process, even while welcoming the reopening of the burn.

Council leaders have framed the programme as a response to demand for affordable, energy-efficient housing. Cabinet member for housing Alan Hill has said the authority is well on its way to building more than 1,600 new energy-efficient homes across North Ayrshire, adding that new developments are being targeted at communities where residents want to live.

Looking further ahead, the scale of development could grow again. North Ayrshire Council is preparing its third Local Development Plan, LDP3, which will set out where new housing should go and how many homes the area needs over the coming years. For Irvine and Kilwinning, where much of the region’s growth has historically been concentrated, the new plan is likely to shape the next wave of proposals.

Residents can view current and upcoming council housing projects on the North Ayrshire Council website.

I couldn’t find a single recent report matching the “thousands” headline; the confirmed figures above total just over 1,000 homes across both towns. If you’re working from a specific source with the larger figure, send it over and I’ll rework the article around it.

Sources:

North Ayrshire Council – Council to expand house building programme
North Ayrshire Council – View plans for major council housing development
North Ayrshire Council – Future housing developments
Scottish Housing News – Council approves plans for 400 new homes
Scottish Housing News – Council set to expand house building programme
North Ayrshire Housing Land Audit 2024