Consultation agreed on development briefs for housing sites

Councillors today agreed to a six-week period of public consultation on draft development briefs for five sites earmarked for residential development in Moray.

The briefs set out the design standards for future development of the sites and developers will be expected to reflect these standards in any proposals they bring forward.

Moray Council’s planning and regulatory services committee was told that this design-led approach to planning would help to ensure high quality development which identified with the settlement in which each of the sites is located.

The sites are at Clarkly Hill, on the outskirts of Burghead; Manse Road in Hopeman, Braes of Allachie at Aberlour, West Pilmuir Road in Forres and Hamilton Drive in Elgin.

The Hamilton Drive site is owned by the council while the others are in private ownership.

The committee also approved a draft masterplan for land owned by Altyre Estate at Dallas Dhu on the edge of Forres.

The site extends to 22 hectares and has an indicative capacity for 150 houses.

A report to committee said: “The masterplan adopts a landscape-led approach and aims to achieve a successful transition from urban to rural character, creating a high quality new edge to the settlement.

“The site has unique characteristics since much of the site cannot be built on as it operates as flood storage for the Chapelton dam as part of the Forres (Burn of Mosset) flood alleviation scheme.

“Almost half of the site will remain undeveloped with many of the open spaces remaining in a natural state.”

The draft masterplan will go out to public consultation for eight weeks.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 95,510 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.