THE first phase of nearly 50 homes under development at the new Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate in Newton Mearns officially opened yesterday.

The revitalised homes at the former Crookfur estate in East Renfrewshire offer residents digitally-connected smart home technology. They are understood to be among the first in Scotland to use voice and motion-activated technology to provide round-the-clock assistance, security, reassurance and companionship.

The redevelopment of the 46 new homes at Don McCarthy Court has been supported by a £5 million funding package by Bank of Scotland.

Patricia Fraser, Trustee of The Hugh Fraser Foundation, one of the estate’s earliest benefactors, said: “The Fraser family, and especially my father, the late Sir Hugh, have had a very close affinity with cottageHOMES since well before the first buildings were established in the 1960s.

"My father’s great vision and philanthropy in bestowing the land to cottageHOMES created a strong bond which has been continued by The Hugh Fraser Foundation supporting the development of the estate for residents over five decades.

"It is a relationship which has stood the test of time and we at the Foundation are pleased we could offer £500,000 to support this phase of the redevelopment.”