Housebuilder Dandara has revealed it is a step closer to starting a 700 home development on the outskirts of Inverurie.
It’s been more than 10 years since the firm bought the 218-acre site at Crichie.
Although there’s “still lots of work to be done”, Dandara could start selling the homes off plan next year, Aberdeen head of sales Claire Bathgate told The Press and Journal.
Aberdeenshire Council officially approved planning permission in principle after a legal agreement was signed between the developer and local authority in 2019.
New jobs created at Inverurie site
Ms Bathgate said Dandara is now “re-planning” the house types due to the time that has passed since permission was first granted.
With the amount of homes to be built, it is likely a number of new jobs will created.
Ms Bathgate, who has worked for Dandara for eight years, said: “We are re-planning because it was some time ago, and things have changed with the house types we’ve put on.
“It’s at its early stages. We’ve had a public consultation already and we’ll have another one in August.
“There’s quite a lot of work to be done before we will actually be selling homes.
“Hopefully, we might get a stage launching from 2025. At this moment in time will we have completed any units in 2025? I’m not certain of that.
“We are working hard on that just now with Transport Scotland and the council and all the other parties we need to try to bring that forward.
“Obviously, we would love to be building there.”
Other developers to come onboard
Ms Bathgate said it’s likely some of the land could also be sold to other companies interested in building.
She added: “We’ve chatted with a few other companies who would like to take a bit of the land to build as well, and I think that’s quite likely.
“We are a relatively small operation in Aberdeen at the moment. I would think it’ll bring a fair amount of jobs and money to the local economy.
“It’s exciting but we need to get it right.”
Dandara is currently building at two sites in Aberdeen’s west end.
Around 240 homes have already been built at Hazlewood, with another 150 to come before the scheme is complete.
The Grange, a mixture of four and five bedroom homes, will see 66 houses built in total when it’s finished.
Positive housing market in Aberdeen
Ms Bathgate believes the Aberdeen housing market is in a good position, with positive times ahead.
She said: “It’s in a relatively positive place from the time when I started.
“Eight years ago things were very sluggish. There was a lot of redundancies and the oil market was hit.
“Things were very slow. We’ve seen peaks and troughs.
“Issues such as mortgage rates and interest rates all have an effect on buyers confidence.
“But Aberdeen has its own little bubble. We’ve always seen that.
“Oil and gas is still going to be important, but we are seeing other things and it’s really encouraging that we are not just dependant on that anymore.
“We are seeing much more energy companies and alternate energy companies and things as well. There is a bit of a change, but oil and gas is our bread and butter in Aberdeen.
“The market there will dictate how confident people feel.”
