Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland has cut the first sod of a new £1.5m social housing scheme at Crossgar Road, Saintfield.

The development, located on a former police station site, will provide eight apartments and four houses for families on the housing waiting list. The new homes are being built by Trinity Housing Association with part funding from the Northern Ireland Executive through the Department for Social Development. Completion is planned for February 2015.

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Minister McCausland said: "One of my key objectives as Housing Minister is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to access good quality accommodation appropriate to their needs. This continues to be an area of high housing need and this scheme will take twelve families from the waiting list and provide them with the very best of quality, modern housing."

The Minister continued: "Trinity Housing is to be congratulated for its' innovative thinking, excellent design and delivery of this project. I look forward to returning next year to see the completed scheme."

The new homes will be built to high energy efficiency standards. All have also been designed to Secured by Design and Lifetime Homes standards, ensuring added security for tenants and flexibility of adaptation if required at a later date. A feature of the new development is roof solar panels to assist water heating.

(CD/JP)