A NEW multi-million pound housing estate in Pennyburn was officially opened last week.

Pennyburn Youth Development Enterprise (PRYDE) opened the 22 new homes on Friday, June 19 which were funded by Irvine Housing Association (IHA).

The housing association has attracted inward investment of £6.7m to the area in the last three years and guests including Cunninghame South MSP Margaret Burgess turned out to celebrate the opening.

Representatives from PRYDE unveiled a plaque to mark the completion of the £3.1m regeneration project.

In 2013, the 48 flats which once sat in the centre of Pennyburn were demolished and have now been replaced with new energy-efficient housing.

IHA say the community has been involved throughout the entire build from the consultation to the design along with competitions in association with Pennyburn Primary School.

All tenants of the flats were given the opportunity to return to the new homes.

But the majority of those decanted have settled elsewhere in Pennyburn or throughout North Ayrshire with only three families returning.

Joan and James Gordon have transferred from a three-storey property within the estate that no longer suited their needs.

Joan said: “We were absolutely delighted to transfer to one of the new houses. We love the house, it is big inside yet still feels cosy. We couldn’t be happier.” Louise Wilson was the original Chair of the PRYDE Shadow Board and now teaches at Pennyburn Primary School said: “As the Shadow Board members said, the regeneration of Pennyburn is more than building new homes, it’s about neighbourhood empowerment and building a resilient community and we have all achieved that."

Alan West, Chair of Irvine Housing Association said: “We are committed to creating homes and places where people want to live, and we’re proud to be delivering on the promise we made to the community when we joined Riverside four years ago. “Due to prioritisation of funding, and as a stand alone organisation we were unable to access funding to support a new build development. With Riverside’s backing we’ve been able to breathe new life into the area and build homes that meet the community’s aspirations for regeneration.

“I’d like to thank the Board and Shadow Board of PRYDE for their dedication and commitment to regeneration within Pennyburn.

“This is the sort of improvement and change we dreamed of delivering for our customers and I’m sure the new development will have a significant positive impact on the wider community of Pennyburn and other local stakeholders.”