Alness builds for future with homes plan go-ahead and progress on new secondary school
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A MULTIMILLION-POUND construction boom in an Easter Ross town will help tackle a chronic shortage of affordable housing, it has been claimed.
While approval for the latest tranche of a 200-home development for Alness has been welcomed, one councillor rued the fact that developer Albyn Housing Society won't have to financially offset "the burden that this development will put on an already crumbling school infrastructure".
Cllr Kirsteen Currie's comments came as a north planning committee approved plans for another 45 homes and 70 serviced plots in the development. "Good progress", meanwhile, is being made on a separate £37.4m replacement for Alness Academy nearby. The school, fit for 660 pupils, will include a 25m swimming pool and is due to be completed next spring.
Albyn's latest project will see construction of eight flats and 15 houses followed by another 22 houses. Later, another 70 serviced house plots will be constructed nearby.
Cllr Currie voiced her concerns about the absence of cash coming from the housing society for this section of the development. She said: “I'm really disappointed that 45 family homes are being constructed and that there is no contribution from the developer towards the burden that this development will put on an already crumbling school infrastructure locally.
“I'm concerned that there appears to be a reluctance from Highland Council to maximise the income that they can achieve, the condition of the school estate has deteriorated considerably since the initial planning in principle was granted and the council's finances have also been depleted.
“There are also a number of plots for sale by the developer as private building plots. I sincerely hope that the developer will use some of the income from these plots to contribute to education provision in the area, as a gesture of good will.”
Robin Nairn, chief pperating officer at Albyn Housing Society, said: “We agree that sustainability is incredibly important when developing homes and services in communities, and this is something we always take into account.
“In the case of the Dalmore development, we paid the developer contribution agreed during the master-planning process.We are absolutely delighted to have obtained detailed planning for this next phase.
“Not only will it provide much needed affordable housing in the Alness area, it will also include some provision for housing to be bought for outright home ownership. This is a first for Albyn Housing Society, and our aim is to enable greater tenure diversification within the whole development.”
Planning committee chairwoman Cllr. Maxine Smith (Cromarty Firth), who is also the joint chair of Albyn, left the debate and took no part in the decision, according to normal practice.
She said later: "In general, in planning we have to go with rules so if something’s already in the system it has to abide by the rules that were current at that time.
“Generally now for the next six months we are going to get applications that are adhering to previous policies and then bit by bit we will get the new policies trickling in.”
A report to councillors made clear there was no requirement for any additional developer contributions under existing legislation. It noted that a minimum 25 per cent of affordable housing has already been exceeded at the development, on land 200m south-east of Alness Academy.
Highland Council meanwhile said yesterday "good progress" is being made on the new secondary school building nearby with substructure, superstructure and floor slab work complete. Completion of the new build is set for April 2020.
It is being carried out by Kier Construction.
