A developer progressing plans to build an apart-hotel on Arran's seafront has said it will help address a shortage of "affordable" accommodation on the island.

Dozens of serviced apartments with "breathtaking sea views" are to be built in Brodick, close to the harbour, on the site of the former McLaren Hotel.

Ed Fowler, director of Abode, which is leading the project, said demolition works are due to get under way shortly.

Abode says the Alpina apartments offer a "rare opportunity to acquire a high-growth prime investment" on one of the most accessible Scottish islands and said it would also address a shortage of affordable self-catering accommodation.

The developers say the apartments, priced from £192,000, will provide returns of at least 9.53 per cent by the end of year one, rising to 12.01% in year five.

Buyers will be able to purchase an apartment for their own use or let it out through the hotel.

A spokesman for Adobe said: "Completion of the development is in perfect timing to coincide with the short-term legislation which seeks to redress the balance between landlords converting long let residential properties into short-term lets hence reducing the supply of affordable rental properties on Arran and increasing the price significantly of those few remaining properties."

While there is support for the demolition of the former hotel, there is said to be some concern amongst businesses and residents over the size of the development.

Kenneth Gibson, SNP MSP, said he had not been contacted by any residents but said he was supportive of a development appropriate to that location. "Having looked at the plans, the size and scale, to me, look over-ambitious for that site", he said.

Known as "Scotland in Miniature", figures show that more than 430,000 visitors travelled to Arran every year before the pandemic.

Around 25% of properties on the island are said to be holiday homes. All short-term lets in Scotland will have to be licensed by July 1, 2024, under new rules which aim to address concerns about over-provision.

Mr Fowler said families could be facing charges of between £600-£800 per night to stay in Arran and said many people travelled to the island, but returned on the same day because it was so costly to stay.

He said apartments like theirs, operating within government regulations, would "make it more affordable for families".

He added: "Short-term lets are competing unfairly against hotels".

"Ours will be a controlled environment in a hotel which means affordable housing coming back on the market. That's more people on Arran spending money."

In January, MSPs approved the introduction on a licensing scheme for Airbnb-style short-term lets, despite a last-ditch attempt for them to be watered down.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison welcomed the approval of the regulations by MSPs, stressing it "will allow local authorities and communities to take action to manage issues more effectively, without unduly curtailing the many benefits of short-term lets to hosts, visitors and the economy".

Self-catering business leaders had called for a registration scheme to be rolled out instead of the SNP Government plan for all premises to obtain a licence to be able to operate.

Local authorities will be required to establish a short-term lets licensing scheme by October 1 and existing hosts and operators will have until April 1, 2023, to apply for a licence.