It’s been nearly 20 years since housing plans for Bilbohall in Elgin were first proposed for the Edgar Road site between the high school and railway line.
Back then the homes were intended to be part of the aborted and divisive Western Link Road.
When the congestion-busting plans for Elgin were thrown out, the proposals to deliver much-needed affordable homes in the town were also temporarily shelved.
Eighteen years on and planning permission has now been secured for nearly 200 new homes to be built at the end of Edgar Road, already one of Elgin’s most congested streets.
The Press and Journal has analysed the plans for the Bilbohall housing plans to ensure you have everything you need to know about what is being built, including;
- How planners intend to stop the new homes being a rat run from Edgar Road to the north of Elgin.
- Why 31 objections were submitted about the plans when they were first submitted.
- The neighbouring plot that has already been earmarked for potential housing in the future.
- What is being provided to help address pressures on local schools and health facilities.
Who is building Bilbohall homes in Elgin?
The Bilbohall housing plans that have been approved are the result of a partnership between Moray Council and Grampian Housing Association.
Scotia Homes were a member of the original partnership but are not part of the final plans that have been approved.
There is a desperate need for council-owned and affordable housing in Elgin and the rest of the region.
Despite 464 new tenancies being created across Moray during 2023/24, there were still 3,351 applications on the local authority’s waiting list in March 2024.
The Bilbohall site covers 18 hectares in the area north of Elgin High School as far as Fairfield Avenue near the railway line, which makes it roughly the size of 11 football pitches.
It also includes a separate smaller plot encompassing NHS Grampian’s former The Firs day hospital, which Moray Council bought in 2007 for £2 million.
The plans include a range of homes ranging from two to five bedrooms across one or two storeys. There are also two blocks of one-bedroom cottage flats.
How Edgar Road traffic will be deterred from Bilbohall
One of the biggest worries about the Bilbohall housing development in Elgin has been trying to stop the residential area becoming a new rat run from the south of the town to the A96.
Originally it was hoped the land would be opened up as part of the Western Link Road, which was being designed to ease exactly the types of journeys planners are now trying to stop.
The project was being developed to improve connections between the south and west of Elgin, including the A96 towards Inverness, by providing another crossing over the railway.
Final plans for Bilbohall include a range of deterrents to discourage drivers from using the new residential area as an easy route across the railway, including traffic islands and speed bumps.
Bus gates controlled by rising and falling bollards will also be installed on the main road through Bilbohall to prevent direct access through the residential area.
Equipment will be provided so only emergency services and buses have the ability to make the bollards drop to provide access.
Could more housing be built in Elgin near Bilbohall?
Elgin already has huge housing expansion projects underway with Elgin South expected to deliver about 2,500 homes over the next 20 years with Findrassie in the north due to have about 1,500.
In comparison, Bilbohall is very small. However, it may not be the only housing development to be built in the Elgin High School area.
Moray Council has already zoned three neighbouring areas for housing in its current Local Development Plan.
The largest is for the area immediately behind Elgin High. Documents say the land, which incorporates two plots, could accommodate 157 homes with the main access point also being from Edgar Road.
A smaller site, roughly opposite Fairfield Avenue, has also been zoned for housing with indicative assessments determining it could accommodate 85 homes.
No plans have been submitted for any of the sites currently.
Objections submitted to try and block Bilbohall housing in Elgin
Plans for the Bilbohall housing were divisive when they were submitted to planners among Elgin locals.
The proposals attracted 31 objections from residents worried about the impact on the local area.
Concerns raised included the loss of privacy for Fairfield Avenue homes, the impact on wildlife and overdevelopment in the area leading to traffic concerns.
In response, council planners say the proposals contain appropriate traffic calming measures to ease road safety worries.
They also dismissed worries that the proposals for a “spine road” running through the site would recreate the aborted Western Link Road.
Additional comments were made that the addition of traffic lights next to the railway bridge would be sufficient to control traffic.
And the new homes would be about 60 to 80 metres away from Fairfield Avenue to avoid the loss of privacy, planners argued.
Could more housing be added to Bilbohall plans?
The number of size of the housing development being proposed for Bilbohall has long been, and continues to still be, a tug-of-war.
When the initial masterplan was conceived it was believed the site could accommodate as much as 380 homes.
That was significantly reduced to 194 homes by the time plans were first submitted for approval in 2020.
Despite those proposals being approved, revised blueprints to increase the size of the development remain under consideration.
The changes include increasing the size of the first phase from 84 homes to potentially 106, bringing the size of the entire development to 226.
Documents submitted to planners say the amendments have been made to “help address the current housing demand” with the inclusion of housing for families and those with specialist needs.
What about Elgin schools and health facilities?
Worries about extra pressure put on services including schools, roads and health facilities are some of the most common when new homes are proposed.
No new schools or health facilities are due to be built alongside the housing at Bilbohall in Elgin.
Moray Council already has new schools earmarked for Findrassie in the north of the town and at Glassgreen in the south of the town.
An extension to Elgin High School has also already secured government funding with construction expected to start this year.
Sites for new health facilities have also been identified as part of the Elgin South housing development being spearheaded by Springfield.
Although no specific facilities will be built in Bilbohall, Moray Council and Grampian Housing Association have signed a contract to pay cash totalling nearly £1 million to help fund improvements elsewhere, including;
- £583,596 to fund healthcare services.
- £295,240 to fund secondary school requirements.
- £98,533.88 to fund transportation improvements, specifically on pedestrian crossings for Edgar Road, Laichmoray junction, Station Road and Maisondieu Road.
Read more from Elgin
- Where will the 1,600 homes go? When will new primary school open? Big questions answered about the Findrassie housing development
- An incredible 2,500 new homes, more schools and a potential traffic headache: Big questions answered about Elgin South housing
- Traffic concerns, bus link worries, car park calculations: The big questions about Aldi’s new Elgin supermarket answered
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