THE ANNUAL ANCHO Family Funday has been hailed as a huge success.

Hundreds of residents turned out to the event, which has been held every August since 2007, making it bigger and better than ever this year with extra reason to celebrate.

Bosses at ANCHO decided to celebrate with a Community BBQ this year – and an invitation was sent to every household in the Redburn and Castlepark areas of Irvine.

But ANCHO also wanted the community involvement in naming two new blocks of flats and launched an exclusive competition with the Irvine Times, with a chance for the winner to walk away with a £100 cash prize.

But housing chiefs were so impressed with the calibre of entries that they couldn’t decide between two winners - so picked both and Michael Allison - who’s entry was 'Golf View’ and Jacqueline Kerr - who’s entry was 'Academy View’ - each picked up a £100 cash prize.

Scores of residents turned out to enjoy the BBQ with included music, bouncy castles, kids rides, sports events, a climbing wall and much more. The celebration came after years of uncertainty due to funding issues. But this year ANCHO finally completed the £1.8m refurbishment project to the maisonette blocks in Redburn Place/Sophia Crescent, Irvine.

One of the three blocks was demolished, and the other two blocks were fully refurbished, including new heating, kitchens, bathrooms, window and doors for each ANCHO property, as well as replacing the roof, insulated render, and installing new controlled entry system.

This has transformed both the look of the area, and the blocks themselves, which are now fully occupied again, with a long waiting list for vacancies. ANCHO have also had an excellent year, as a housing organisation, with outstanding levels of customer satisfaction, strong financial performance, and great overall performance against the Scottish Government’s Tenants’ Charter outcomes. ANCHO Director, Elaine Gibson, said: “We know that the Redburn Community waited a long time to have something positive done with the maisonette blocks, and this BBQ was our way of saying thanks for their patience, whilst at the same time, gaining their views about our future plans for the Redburn Centre.”