BOSSES at the Knockroon housing development have admitted that they are not as far on with the project as they had planned to be.

Anne Hope of Drongan-based house builder Hope Homes said that the depressed housing market meant they had not been able to progress as quickly as they had originally hoped.

However, she said that bosses behind the ambitious Princes Trust-backed village-building project remained optimistic that they could get back on track with their proposals soon.

She said: “It’s true that Knockroon has not sold as many units as we had originally thought when we started.

“That’s true of everything in the housing market though - it has not been an easy time to build houses anywhere.

“What’s certainly true is that we have been receiving a lot of inquiries about developments there and we’re confident that things will soon pick up.” One imminent development is the opening of a new pizzeria and cafe at the site, which will be built in what has been used as the visitor centre for the development.

The new cafe is the work of entrepreneur David Brownlow, who has become heavily involved in the Knockroon project as a trustee of Dumfries House.

CAFE PLAN Brownlow, who is the boss of financial services adviser Huntswood, has ploughed money into the development of Dumfries House, including a £1.5 million donation to fund the construction of the new walled garden.

He was on-site last week to check up on progress at Knockroon, including his new cafe plan which is to be sited in what is currently the visitors centre.

Work started at Knockroon in April 2011, with the first phase having been planned to include 87 homes, 12 work units and four commercial units.

The land was bought by Prince Charles’ Charities Foundation in 2007 as part of the deal to take ownership of Dumfries House.

East Ayrshire Council had considered locating their mooted Greenmill/Barshare super-school at the site, with money set aside for the project having long been listed as 'Knockroon Primary’ in their regular financial reports.

However, they recently ruled the site out, with Acting Head of Schools Alan Ward stating that the project had 'not developed as originally envisaged’.

The council declined to comment further on Knockroon.