NEW homes are taking shape at a site next to the iconic Gourock Ropeworks in Port Glasgow.

River Clyde Homes and Dundee based Cullross Property Development are building the Bay Street development which consists of 41 properties.

Housing bosses say they hope the development is only the start of many new homes being built in the district.

Gary Wilson, executive director of the association, said:“It’s great, after months of groundworks taking place, to see new homes rising from the ground at Bay Street.

“The works are progressing well and we anticipate that the development will be completed in January 2018.

“These homes will be a valuable addition to our housing stock in Port Glasgow and mark what we hope is just the beginning of a significant number of new build developments across Inverclyde by River Clyde Homes in the coming years.”

The development includes 28 flats, six semi-detached and seven terraced homes and 41 parking spaces.

Almost half will be suitable for elderly people or those with mobility issues with one designated for a wheelchair user.

The properties have been designed with materials chosen to be sympathetic to the adjoining historic ropeworks building and they all meet current energy efficiency building standards.

The Bay Street site was once a 400-yard long ‘rope walk’, which ran alongside the railway line and was used for spinning ropes by means of an intricate system of tracks and machinery.

That was demolished in the 1980s but the foundations still remain as does the category A-listed ropeworks mill, which was converted to luxury loft apartments in 2006.