IMAGES of the proposed housing development on the former Forth Valley College site in Sauchie have been released as the venture secures vital funding.

Construction of the new estate, to be called Devongrange, could begin as early as spring next year.

In total, 145 new homes will be built and will include a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses of between two and four bedrooms.

However, only 10 homes will also be transferred to a registered social landlord to provide new affordable housing for the area.

The 14-acre site is the former Forth Valley College campus, which was closed in 2012 and demolished to make way for new residential development.

The plans took a major step forward as the joint venture between Ediston Homes and the Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) secured a development loan from the Bank of Scotland's Real Estate team.

Developers previously told the Advertiser that they were "hoping to be on site during the second quarter of next year".

This week, Ross Baird, investment manager at the HGP, said: “Our investment alongside Ediston Homes in the Devongrange development will see a good volume of family housing come forward.

"It also represents our first investment with Ediston and helps them towards their goal of becoming a prominent regional player.

"We’re excited to see the design by streets development come forward and the positive impact it will have on the local community.”

Neal Jamieson, director from Ediston Real Estate, added: “Our vision is for the Ediston Homes brand to become a thriving part of our group by targeting a significant volume of completions every year of critically needed housing supply across Scotland.

"This is its second scheme, following the success of Chesser in Edinburgh, and the support of the HGP and Bank of Scotland is enabling us to realise our strong growth plans.”

The HGP is a joint venture between Lloyds Banking Group – the Bank of Scotland’s parent company – and Homes England.

It was formed in 2015 with a £50million commitment from each partner to invest equity in new residential development, with the aim of supporting the construction of more than 2,000 homes across the UK.

This year, following the initial success of HGP, each shareholder committed a further £60m of investment, allowing HGP to continue and expand its work in backing small to medium sized housebuilders across the UK.