Moray Council grants permission for housing development in Forres with Altyre Estate
Twenty four new homes and student accommodation with 40 beds in Forres have been approved by Moray Council.
The local authority’s Planning and Regulatory Services Committee has given the go-ahead for phase one of the Dallas Dhu Masterplan, a collaboration between Moray Council and Altyre Estate.
Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee chairman, Councillor Marc Macrae, confirmed the £7.5m Housing Mix Delivery project is part of Moray’s Growth Deal, jointly funded by Moray Council (£5million) and the Scottish Government (£2.5million).
He said: “This marks a significant milestone for the project, and it’s encouraging to see the progress made from the teams involved.
“The decision brings us one step closer to delivering affordable, accessible and sustainable homes for the community, and I look forward to seeing how these innovative plans come to life.”
The initiative aims to unlock sites for housing across the region - investment is also being directed towards sites in Speyside, the Buckie coastal area and Elgin.
The Dallas Dhu development aspires to create a sustainable community, with multi-functional outdoor spaces to encourage physical activity and food growing.
The 40-bed student accommodation is being developed by Altyre Estate to satisfy demand from students studying in the local area, particularly The Glasgow School of Art Highland Campus at Altyre. There will be four serviced plots for custom-built housing and six serviced plots designed as a housing innovation area.
Director at Fraser/Livingston Architects, Robin Livingstone, believes the project will deliver much-needed homes and accommodation.
She said: “The project offers an extraordinary opportunity to create a landscape-led community of homes that carefully mediate between town and rural landscape.
“The range of tenures and house types will cultivate a mixed multi-generational community within a walkable, vibrant, green and sociable new community that’s woven into, and informed by, the qualities of the existing context.
“We commend the innovative collaboration taken by Moray Council and Altyre Estate, which has afforded a more integrated approach in the design of the scheme, and we look forward to working together towards the successful delivery of the project ambitions.”
