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First residents move into £2bn Aberdeenshire new town

February 13 2015

First residents move into £2bn Aberdeenshire new town
The first residents have begun moving into a £2bn Aberdeenshire new town with the completion of the first of an eventual 4,025 homes given outline permission for the site.

Located five miles south of Aberdeen Chapelton of Elsick is expected to be home to up to 100 households by the end of the year with a café, nursery and dental practice also included in the developments first neighbourhood.

Alex Neil, cabinet secretary for communities, said: “Welcoming the first residents to Chapelton is a significant milestone for the north east. This is a great model of planning that encompasses broad public engagement and sustainable design, resulting in attractive homes, community facilities and green spaces.”

A further six neighbourhoods remain to be built together with associated schools, healthcare facilities, parks and community buildings.
Chapelton's population has risen to two
Chapelton's population has risen to two

11 Comments

Methilated Spirits
#1 Posted by Methilated Spirits on 13 Feb 2015 at 19:19 PM
For a start, it's in Kincardineshire (albeit the local authority is currently Aberdeenshire Council). Anyway, I had a look at the site a week ago and I must say that the development looks promising, provided that standards aren't allowed to slip back to the usual bog-standard speculative housing that's so prevalent in Scotland. The Chapelton proposal is incredibly ambitious overall - let's hope that the developers stick to their guns throughout the development period and produce a town with a real Scottish character. The biggest challenge will relate to the design and commercial success of the 'High Street' in the town centre.

Of course, modernist architects will continue to criticise such developments but I think that they should aim their fire more at the characterless nature of the type of speculative house building that is still the norm, particularly in Scotland.
monkey9000
#2 Posted by monkey9000 on 13 Feb 2015 at 19:22 PM
Is that where they filmed the Truman Show?
RJB
#3 Posted by RJB on 14 Feb 2015 at 13:17 PM
Looks promising, nicer than the model housing at dumfries house. Don't suppose you have a site plan of the scheme , Urban realm ?
Rem Koolbag
#4 Posted by Rem Koolbag on 16 Feb 2015 at 09:30 AM
Bet they drive to their little cottages in fantastically advanced automobiles, that look like the wind, were built in automated factories, sense road conditions and adapt accordingly and even hook up to their mobile phones so they can communicate while on the road.

But of course, living in a house that looks like a 18th Century peasant's is the way forward for good design. Just hope that side door is high enough now that the population has discovered calcium!
Sven
#5 Posted by Sven on 16 Feb 2015 at 12:58 PM
The houses look nice. They fit in with the local architecture vernacular. They are certainly not 18th century peasant houses, peasant did not really exist outside of poor parts of the Highlands and Islands in the 18th century, they are farmers and well to do houses.

They look a lot more pleasing than endless English brick and pseudo-little England houses that mass house builders build.
Ian Nairn Jr
#6 Posted by Ian Nairn Jr on 16 Feb 2015 at 21:37 PM
@ #4 Rem - A lot of the most technologically advanced automobiles have traditional features that buyers value - leather seats, timber panels, solid coachwork, aluminium detailing giving the appearance of chromework - because we associate them with traditional hallmarks of quality and feel comfortable in and around them. Big selling modern cars often ape historical designs (Mini, Range Rover, Aston etc). We could all drive carbon fibre blades (and some manufacturers make them - there is a certain market for it) but generally we are drawn to the familiar rather than the 'modern'. And this applies more so to our homes. We have an idea of what the ideal home looks like - welcoming, solid, and timeless - but the construction and technology contained within are still up-to-date. Sure, some like modernist minimalism, and they can live in minimalist houses, but we're talking about the masses here, and we're talking about houses appropriate to a Scottish country estate.
Sure, externally they are not architecturally adventurous or pushing boundaries, but these will be people’s homes. For better or for worse, most people do not wish to live in an experiment, or something riskily fashionable. And as traditional styling goes, these are well done. More Land Rover than Zonda, and none the worse for that.
boaby wan
#7 Posted by boaby wan on 17 Feb 2015 at 08:41 AM
"welcoming, solid, and timeless" - you have seen the pictures accompanying the article...?
james
#8 Posted by james on 17 Feb 2015 at 09:17 AM
I wanted to resist commenting on this nonsense, but hey ho... I have no desire to live in a world that is predicated on a LIE. Pure and simple. Prince Charles' and Leon Krier's Poundbury writ large again. May as well be Disney. Just one look at some modern Dutch housing would tell you that you can achieve all those human aspirations of domesticated home and scale within a varied townscape etc. without it looking like some inauthentic 18th century ersatz dreck. It is a LIE - pure and simple and you all know it. We are not talking about cars here. Watch Top Gear if you want to do that.
Derek Miller
#9 Posted by Derek Miller on 17 Feb 2015 at 09:41 AM
Chapelton of Elsick is an ambitious project and looks to have the potential to deliver what is needed in Aberdeenshire: nicely designed affordable homes. The business model is not unlike that of the Commonwealth Games Village in Glasgow, with various developers/parties working in tandem to provide mixed housing and decent facilities, with public backing. Whilst the Games Village is undoubtedly urban/brown field, Chapelton of Elsick shows that this can also work in rural/coastal locations. This model could be the way forward for Scotland, especially at the affordable/Housing Association end of the sector. I wish the project every success.
Robert
#10 Posted by Robert on 17 Feb 2015 at 13:17 PM
#8 James: Couldn't agree more.

Its all a bit of a joke though, isn't it? Please someone tell me it is. Next thing we know the new VW Golf will be available in mock 2 horse carriage styling...
Imagination
#11 Posted by Imagination on 17 Feb 2015 at 13:25 PM
Why was I not involved in this project?

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