November 17 2023

Atholl Estates have shared early plans for a live-work community (including self-build plots) and workshops on the outskirts of Dunkeld, Perthshire.

Haughend will help meet a housing shortage in the area by delivering 65 homes (35 classed as affordable) on 40 acres of rural farmland. A novel approach to housing delivery will see serviced land for 23 homes made available to Dunkeld, Birnam and District Community Development Trust, with the existing steading and farmhouse turned into a 'makers space' for local businesses. A ban on holiday lets will also be imposed.

In a consultation statement, Atholl Estates explained: "The serviced affordable housing land will be of a scale that is meaningful given the acute housing challenge in Dunkeld & Birnam, whilst also responding to the capacity of the villages to accommodate new homes.

"The infrastructure necessary to deliver the serviced affordable housing land will be enabled through private local housing of a range and type to meet local demand..."

Evolving designs by Page\Park Architects show an arc of courtyard housing grouped to the northern boundary of the site, clustered around the retained farmhouse. Space for a community orchard, public green and wildflower garden is also shown.

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Lovely on 18 Nov 2023 at 00:45 AM

A nice idea in some ways but sounds a lot like warm words only at almost one acre of green belt land per dwelling. Whatever the accompanying PR puffery is in making a raison d'etre for it this is still a lot of houses and way too low density for something on the edge of a densely built and very pleasant historic village. Looks like a scatter gun USA style suburbanist approach in plan so seems rather inappropriate in rural Scotland.

#2 Posted by K on 18 Nov 2023 at 17:21 PM

It all sounds lovely but the potential full development of this site would be considerably larger than the village itself. Affordable housing is desperately needed in Dunkeld but this site is not appropriate for development of this scale. Access is very difficult and there is already way too much traffic crossing the bridge

#3 Posted by Cynic on 12 Dec 2023 at 15:21 PM

I agree entirely with K. Page\Park Architects have confirmed that the long-term aim is to build 250 houses at Haughend. This would more than double the current size of this attractive, but traffic congested, village - which already has inadequate parking provision. It is an attempt to re-zone 40 acre of agricultural land in one of Scotland's loveliest National Scenic Areas.

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