By Graham Huband and Graeme Strachan

THE FUTURE of a multi- million pound housing development bordering the famous golf links at Carnoustie is in doubt.

The downturn in the property market has resulted in The Maltings, a block of luxury apartments and penthouses, on the town’s Victoria Street, where prices start at £169,950, effectively being mothballed.

Stirling housebuilders Ogilvie have spent months developing The Maltings, but no flats have been sold with concerns in the housing sector appearing to take hold.

Contractors working on the building have been instructed to only make the block wind and water-tight and finish a show home before quitting the site.

It was expected the development would be extremely popular because of its position next to Burnside golf course and its proximity to the world famous championship golf course at Carnoustie.

However, optimism over the development may have been misplaced, with the flats remaining unsold and the future of the building is now uncertain.

An insider said Ogilvie had struggled to generate sales at the development and—at least in the meantime—the building was to be left unfinished.

Ogilvie Homes sales and marketing manager Sharon McPhee insisted it was not unusual for just a show home to be completed.

But she did confirm they would only be completing that property in the meantime.

“We are going forward with launching the show flat and it should be ready early October,” she said.

“We are hopeful that when it is launched there will be far more interest in the development.

“We traditionally don’t finish off the interior of flats in developments such as this because it gives buyers the opportunity to make a few changes for themselves.”

It has emerged that building companies in Dundee, Angus and north Fife are feeling the impact of the credit crunch.

This week Dundee builders WH Brown Construction axed around 30 jobs, including 14 newly-qualified apprentices.

The number of houses sold in the first six months of the year was more than 15% down on the same period in 2007, while house prices in those areas fell by around 5% in the three months up to July.