Contractors have started work on a £1.6million project to transform the site of a former Highland medical centre into much-needed rental properties.
The Belhaven Ward, which was a standalone ward of the Belford Hospital at Fort William in Lochaber, closed its doors in 2013.
Ownership of the site on Belford Road was transferred from NHS Highland to Highland Council last year.
The local authority has teamed up with Lochaber Housing Association to create 13 new homes on the land alongside the A82 Inverness to Glasgow road.
The old building was demolished in January and contractor, RE Campbell, is now on site carrying out ground works, with the project due to be completed by the end of June next year.
The new housing will consist of a mixture of bungalows and one and two bedroom flats for rent.
Five wheelchair accessible bungalows will be rented to tenants by the council, while the housing association will rent out the eight new flats.
The scheme forms part of the Scottish Government’s house building programme and is being part funded by a Scottish Government Housing Grant, with the Highland Small Communities Housing Trust acting as agent for both the council and the housing association.
Councillor Thomas MacLennan, who is leader of the council’s Lochaber committee, said: “There is a great demand for rented housing in Fort William that meets the needs of the ageing population and people with mobility issues so I think this site with easy access to the town is ideal.”
Lochaber Housing Association chief executive Blair Allan said: “It is an exciting project, being in such an important location in Fort William, and we are confident that the housing that will be provided there will be a real asset to the town and go some way to addressing the great need there is for affordable housing here.”