October 26 2021

Stewart Milne Homes are pushing on with phase two works at Dargavel Village, Bishopton, a giant mixed-use development to reclaim brownfield land at the former Royal Ordnance Factory site in Renfrewshire.

Constituting 180 homes and 16 flats the project, which includes 62 properties classed as affordable, backs onto phase one as well as Dargavel Country Park, the Craigton Burn and a planned primary school.

Fronted by a four-storey 'gateway' apartment block the estate will position terraced housing to the Western Link Road, presenting a linear frontage to the tree-lined boulevard. Interior properties include 'corner turner' designs with a dual elevation overlooking a pocket park with varied building orientations and juxtaposed styles to create visual interest.

In a statement, the housebuilder wrote: "The phase 2 development parcel provides an exciting opportunity to deliver a housing development with strong character and a real sense of place. The detailed design proposals employ sound urban design principles with a disciplined and relevant approach to architectural form and materials palette.

"All aspects of the design draw from the best of the immediate context and respect as appropriate Scottish vernacular to create a place with a distinctive sense of place."

The proposed materials palette includes reconstituted stone and facing brick with slate-effect roof tiles.

Dargavel Village is the largest community growth area in the country, an area of land identified by the government for large scale urban expansion that cannot be met by established built-up areas, delivering 4,000 homes across 1,000 hectares. 

6 Comments

#1 Posted by The Heart of Saturday Night on 26 Oct 2021 at 10:18 AM

"A place with a distinctive sense of place"

Wow, fancy that.

#2 Posted by modernish on 26 Oct 2021 at 10:52 AM

To be fair Dargavel Village is a bit of a success story. Sure there are some drawbacks and stylistically it might not be to everyone's taste. But is is repurposing a huge brownfield site, providing homes of varying tenure along with community infrastructure and access to rail services.

#3 Posted by Graeme McCormick on 26 Oct 2021 at 11:38 AM

I find the whole development hugely disappointing. Family homes with small driveways and no place to park the cars except on the roads running through the development. No space between houses for thickets to nurture wildlife and a modicum of privacy. The look of SM's houses are a better than the other builders but that's as far as it goes.

#4 Posted by Darren MacL on 27 Oct 2021 at 12:18 PM

Completely agree Graeme. The Persimmon houses are the worst, they look awful and a literary jammed together. Purely profit driven and absolutely no thought for place making.

#5 Posted by TheFakeArchitect on 27 Oct 2021 at 13:32 PM

I actually think people will drive for miles just to see that "gateway" apartment block..

#6 Posted by Peter on 28 Oct 2021 at 13:16 PM

#5 - Funny that I even considered popping there on my way to the highlands once, to smell the periodic table contaminated ground and have a wee toast for the poor souls stuck in traffic every morning and afternoon. But, as there is no easy way to go back to M8 northbound, I decided to wait for Google Street view :)

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