Developers behind plans for a huge housing development in Aberdeenshire have cleared their final planning hurdle.
Malcolm Allan Housebuilders and Barratt East Scotland have wanted to build 864 houses on land east of Inverurie, at Uryside and Portstown, for more than a decade.
The proposals were thrown out by Aberdeenshire Council in 2011, but last year the Scottish Government announced it intended to overturn the decision.
Now negotiations between the authority and developers have concluded, paving the way for the government to officially grant the appeal, raising hopes work could finally start early next year.
In this phase of the multimillion project Malcolm Allan will build 253 homes and four commercial units at Portstown.
The entire project is expected to take more than 10 years to complete, with more than 1,000 properties eventually planned.
Barratt East Scotland will build a further 611 homes at Uryside.
Bruce Allan, a director of Kintore-based Malcolm Allan, said last night: “We’re pleased that we have finally completed all the hurdles and can now get on with the development.
“Because it’s a very complicated job and there are other phases to this development, the council has wanted to grant permission for it all together so that can now happen and we can get the official go-ahead. Once we get that, we will be seeking to start early next year.”
A total of 24 legal conditions, ranging from badger protection surveys to installing pavements, roads and cycle paths, have now been attached to the development.
Another condition has also been attached to both sets of plans, setting out the developers’ obligation to provide land for a new primary school and to contribute towards road improvements.
The developers previously claimed they would need to build all 1,071 homes to fund the building of a new £11million primary school, but councillors have raised concerns the first phases of the scheme would put pressure on the already cramped Market Place School. Earlier this year, developers lodged proposal of application notices for the planned site of Uryside school and another at Portstown.
Nobody from Barratt East Scotland was available for comment last night.