PROCAST Group has started retrofit work on Meagher Court in Cumnock on behalf of East Ayrshire Council.
The work will see three entire blocks of flats retrofitted into modern, low-carbon, energy efficient housing as a demonstrator from the CoRE (community renewable energy) project that comes as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal.
The CoRE project is funded with £17 million from the UK Government and £7.5 million from East Ayrshire Council as part of the £251 million Ayrshire Growth Deal.
With an investment of £3.95 million from Ayrshire Growth Deal for energy efficiency measures, the Meagher Court project includes whole building retrofit insulation, external and internal upgrades, solar PV array with battery storage, as well as decarbonisation to three blocks of flats, utilising a ground source heat pump system. In addition, the project will include accessibility adaptions to future-proof the buildings and improve accessibility for elderly and disabled residents.
This project will be delivered in three phases, with each phase building on the outcomes from the one before. Work to the first block of flats has attracted £420,000 of grant funding from the Scottish Government’s social housing net zero fund towards retrofit measures. A further £186,000 has been secured from the UKRI Centre for Net-Zero High Density Buildings and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to enable input from several academic partners to deliver enhanced monitoring and evaluation outcomes. Three blocks of flats, each comprising 12 homes, will benefit from this investment.
Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of the East Ayrshire Council and chair of Ayrshire economic joint committee, said, “CoRE aims to showcase how a green recovery can transform our rural towns and villages and make our communities better connected, with healthier and improved standards of living. Cumnock and Doon Valley is a community which has experienced economic and population decline and a primary focus of CoRE is to maximise the socio-economic and community health and wellbeing benefits associated with the net-zero transition.
“This retrofit project will help tackle fuel poverty by making these homes more energy efficient and comfortable for people to live in and will ultimately help communities to heat and power their homes more affordably and sustainably.”
Stuart Feay, operation director at Procast Group, added, “We’re proud to be partnering with East Ayrshire Council to deliver this project at Meagher Court as part of the CoRE programme in Barshare. For a community with such strong roots in Scotland’s mining heritage, there’s real significance in now being at the forefront of the transition to low carbon living.
“This project is about more than upgrading homes – it’s about reducing energy bills, cutting carbon emissions, and tackling fuel poverty. We’re committed to delivering the highest quality of work for tenants and look forward to continuing our partnership with the council.”
Phase one is expected to be complete by summer 2026; phase two by the end of the year; and phase three by the end of summer 2027.
