Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Turriff residents first chance to see housing boom plans

Local woman Rose Logan is backing the scheme.
Local woman Rose Logan is backing the scheme.

Residents of a north-east town facing a population explosion will get the chance to see plans for the housing expansion for the first time today.

The 450-home scheme proposed for the east of Turriff could increase the number of residents in the market town by as much as 20%.

Developer Halliday Fraser Munro has submitted a proposal of application notice to Aberdeenshire Council on behalf of three local landowners.

The document is an indication that a major planning application is imminent.

Local people will have the opportunity to view early plans and ask questions at a public consultation event held at Turriff town hall between 2-8pm today.

In a statement, the developer said: “Any persons wishing to make comments relating to the proposal or wishing to obtain further information may do so by contacting Halliday Fraser Munro.”

A spokeswoman for the firm has stressed local opinion will be taken into account by planners. She said: “This is kicking that process off and it’s a long term project before an application is submitted.”

Public comments made at this early stage of the planning process will be considered as the project progresses, but are not regarded as formal letters of support of objection.

If the project goes ahead, Turriff residents can expect the development to open up as much as 25 acres for employment land. New community and leisure facilities would also be built at Balmellie and Delgaty.

At least two access points will have to be built, along with a new eastern bypass for the town. The development will have to incorporate at least 112 affordable homes and safeguard the nearby Woods of Delgaty.

Some local people have raised concerns that an influx of new families could put pressure on already strained education and health services.

Turriff community council treasurer John Smith has questioned the impact on existing infrastructure.

“It’s a lot of folk – 450 homes could mean as many as 1,000 new residents for a town of 5,000,” he said.

“Have they factored in this number of people into the development of the new school?”