Plans for the infrastructure that will support the creation of the first neighbourhood within the new community of Grandhome have been approved by Aberdeen City Council.
The approval of Planning and Road Construction Consent applications paves the way for work to begin on site later this year for the neighbourhood which will be called Laverock Braes.
Delivery of the first phase of infrastructure is anticipated to start in Spring 2016 with further planning applications for residential development due to follow later in the year. An announcement in respect of the infrastructure contractor to be awarded the project is to be made imminently.
Grandhome occupies a 320 hectare site located six kilometres north-west of Aberdeen city centre. With long-term potential for 7,000 homes, the community is being planned and developed by The Grandhome Trust, a family-led entity that has held the land for more than 300 years. The Trust has a vision to create a community of exemplary quality in terms of its built environment, sense of place, civic amenities and quality of life.
Laverock Braes will be a mixed-use neighbourhood, containing shops and business space for local people as well as a public square and a multi-purpose community hall. Davidston Square is designed to be the focal point for the local community and will provide high quality public space to frame Davidston Hall, which has been designed by award-winning Edinburgh-based practice Reiach and Hall Architects.
The initial work on site will include underground services, landscaping, a new access point to the site and Grandhome’s first streets, which will provide the framework for forthcoming residential and commercial development.
The design of Grandhome's streets has been influenced by the Scottish Government’s progressive policy document Designing Streets. This document promotes high quality street design and place-making oriented around safe streets for cyclists and pedestrians within a network of connected and walkable neighbourhoods. Grandhome is the first of Aberdeen’s large scale developments that will be delivered entirely in accordance with the principles set out in this guidance, which underpins the status of the new community as part of the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Scottish Community Initiative.
Bruce Smith, trustee and spokesman for the Grandhome Trust, said, “This is an important milestone for Grandhome with our place-making principles now embodied in detailed plans and endorsed by Aberdeen City Council. We now look forward to this translating into the initial phase of work on site this year as our first neighbourhood, Laverock Braes, takes shape."