Fourteen new council homes are to be built on contaminated land in Maybole.
Eight affordable flats, four bungalows and two houses are in the pipeline for the site at Ladyland Road in the town.
Hazardous spoil must be removed and a layer of “inert soil” laid down to cover the plot to make it safe.
Workers are expected to start construction in March and finish in February 2021.
The South Ayrshire Council-owned one acre site had been on the market for £300,000 but failed to sell.
The ‘cottage flats’ and bungalows would have one bedroom each while the houses will have two.
Councillors approved proposals to push ahead with the development and hire a contractor at a recent South Ayrshire Council leadership panel meeting.
The site was formerly a school as well as a council depot and has been lying empty for years.
The building project is expected to cost £2.97 million.
A report on the project was presented to councillors in private at the most recent South Ayrshire Leadership Panel.
But after the meeting the redacted report on the development was released to the public.
The Scottish Government is to contribute £59,000 towards the cost of building each home.
The bulk of the cash will be drawn from the council’s Housing Revenue Account.
A total of £500,000 will also come from the second homes council tax fund.
The report on the project said: “Rejecting the recommendations may impact on the reputation of the council by failing to increase the supply of affordable housing and make best use of available Scottish Government subsidy. “
