PLANS to invest £60million to create more than 200 new homes in Erskine have taken a major step forward after a leading housebuilder finalised a deal for a 27-acre site next to a well-known hotel.

Persimmon Homes West Scotland finalised a land deal with the owners of the Erskine Bridge Hotel which, if the firm receives planning permission from Renfrewshire Council, will see the development of 246 new homes.

Bosses have said the development would create more than 1,000 jobs.

The hotel will remain open for the foreseeable future. 

Doug Law, managing director of Persimmon Homes West Scotland, said: “It is important to us we build homes in locations where people want to live and we work hard to source sites and develop projects that meet the needs of the local community.

“This particular development will bring much-needed new homes for local people and commuters in an area which has already been identified as appropriate for residential development.

“Significant revisions have been made to our original plans taking into account feedback from the local authority and local people following our consultation event. 

“Our proposals request permission for 246 homes.

“The hotel itself is no longer included in the development plans and a parkland will be created along the river front offering a community facility and separating the development and the Inner Clyde Special Protection Area.

“The development will boost the local economy and create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.”

If the plans are accepted, work will start on site in spring 2020 with the first reservations available soon after.

Mr Law added: “Our experience in creating new homes and communities just two miles West of Erskine at Dargavel Village in Bishopton has highlighted the demand for homes for all types of buyers, from first-time buyers to downsizers and growing families.”

The proposed development, to be named Riverbank, features more than 20 house styles ranging from two-bedroom bungalows to four-bedroom detached properties.