Families are settling into their new homes as the first phase of a project to deliver 2,000 affordable homes in Aberdeen is completed.
Wellheads in Dyce is just one of several sites being developed as part of the biggest housing project by the city council in 50 years.
Some 67 flats have been completed so far in Dyce, with a total of 283 planned.
However, even with progress being made, council bosses have recently conceded that they will only manage to build half of its promised 2,000 homes at developments across the city by next year’s deadline.
The other 1,000 are expected to all be under construction by Christmas.
At the moment there are currently 5,735 applicants on the council house waiting list in Aberdeen – down from 6,100 last April and more than 7,600 in 2015.
Rising construction costs plus a shortage of materials and workers that will likely to continue throughout 2021 have contributed to this building shortfall.
Residents get their keys
Aberdeen City Council leader Jenny Laing said: “I was absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to meet some of the residents who have recently moved into the new council homes which have been completed in phase one of the Wellheads development.
“These new homes in Dyce form part of the biggest council house building programme Aberdeen has seen in the last 50 years.”
Built by Ogilvie Construction and overseen by Faithful and Gould, each of the new homes is designed to be low maintenance and support active travel.
New residents at the Wellheads site can enjoy a new playground, plenty of green outdoor space, and cycle storage.
City growth and resources convener Ryan Houghton added: “It has been great watching the build progress for these new council flats and I’m sure our tenants who have moved in are settling in and exploring their new surroundings.
“These new homes in Dyce are part of the exciting 2,000 new council houses project which will provide not only energy-efficient buildings but they are also low maintenance and built to an extremely high quality.
“We are proud of the work we are undertaking building high-quality homes of different sizes suitable for a range of tenants in community settings around the city.”
Other sites due to be built include Auchmill, Craighill in Kincorth, the former Kincorth Academy site at Kincorth, Tillydrone, and Kaimhill.
Planning applications across the city
Planning applications for the 99 homes at Craighill, 72 new council homes in Tillydrone and the 213-home development in Kincorth have been submitted to the Planning Authority in recent weeks.
As part of the 2,000 homes project, 99 council homes were built in Smithfield in 2017 and 80 in Manor Walk in 2018.
Construction has also started on 369 units at the former Summerhill Academy site at Lang Stracht, which comes after applications to demolish the former home of Aberdeen Journals.
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