A MAJOR developer has pulled out of controversial plans for a new 1,500-home village in the shadow of the Cairngorm Mountains.
Elgin-based Springfield Properties has been a key player in the An Camas Mor scheme planned for a site near Aviemore for three years. But yesterday, the firm revealed it was withdrawing from the project to focus on other “business priorities”.
The move left a questionmark hanging over the future of the An Camas Mor development.
But Johnnie Grant, the owner of the Rothiemurchus Estate, where the village would be built, said he and others involved in the team behind the proposals were pushing ahead.
Springfield’s Sandy Adam said the decision to leave the project had been “difficult”.
He added: “Our business priorities have evolved over the past three years.
“Very substantial additions have been made to our land bank, with big strategic allocations around Dundee and Perth, as well as smaller developments in many new locations.
“We wish Rothiemurchus every success and continue to work with them on a detailed handover of the project.”
Mr Grant said: “An Camas Mor LLP is already in discussion with other partners and in the meantime is taking forward this project to the next stage of the detailed planning process with the original team and the work carried out by Springfield.
“We appreciate that in the three years since Springfield became involved, the market has changed significantly and there are many new opportunities throughout Scotland.
“They now have a lot of other projects in the pipeline and need to concentrate elsewhere.”
He said he hoped work would start next spring on the first phase of the development. Last year, the team said it hoped work would be under way by the end of this year.
The village beside the River Spey would be developed over 20-30 years, with low-cost housing, businesses and community facilities, and would represent a major development in the Cairngorms National Park.
Park authority convener Duncan Bryden said: “Springfield Properties have put in a considerable amount of commitment and effort getting An Camas Mor to the stage where the masterplan and phase one applications could be submitted so we are naturally disappointed that they have decided not to continue with their involvement in the project. It will be up to the applicant, An Camas Mor LLP, to come forward with an alternative means of delivering An Camas Mor – a planned new community of up to 1,500 homes with employment and community facilities in the Cairngorms National Park – which was formally granted planning permission in principle last month.”
A consortium of environmentalists – including the Cairngorm Campaign, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks and the Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group – has mounted a legal challenge over the development and other housing schemes in the park authority’s local plan.
They have taken their case to the highest court in the UK, the Supreme Court in London, after the failure of two attempts to get the plan overturned by the Scottish courts.
Conservation group vice-convener Roy Turnbull said they continued to have “very serious concerns” about the potential impact of the An Camas Mor development.
He said: “The whole development site lies within the Cairngorm Mountains National Scenic Area and supports ancient woodland and threatened and sensitive species and habitats.
“In our view there are major implications for nearby designated sites that support some of Scotland’s and Europe’s most endangered wildlife.”