Double Dykes is being completely transformed thanks to the £4m of funding secured by Perth and Kinross Council. All of the chalets at the site at Ruthvenfield are being replaced with brand new energy-efficient accommodation for residents. Major additional improvement works are also being carried out across the site.

The project is being carried out with full consultation and engagement with residents.

The council successfully bid for £3,906,000 from the Scottish Government’s Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund to help pay for the works. The award represents 60% of the total cost, with the council contributing the rest.

The Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Action Plan “Improving the Lives of Scotland’s Gypsy/Travellers” was published in 2019 and committed to additional and better accommodation for Gypsy/Travellers. In March 2021, the Scottish Government announced the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund to help to achieve the commitment in the Action Plan. The Fund is for renovating existing Gypsy/Traveller sites or building new sites.

Once completed, the Double Dykes improvement scheme will see:

• 20 brand new chalets built to replace existing older accommodation
• New energy-efficient heating and hot water systems installed using renewable technology like solar panels, with the potential to be net zero
• The installation of new services and utilities connections
• New fencing for each pitch
• Improvements to existing roadways and fences on site
• Upgrades to LED street lighting throughout the site.
• Improvements to site drainage
• Development of a playing field area to rear of the site to consider opportunities for a communal gathering area, a play park with seating area, and the potential for a community garden area
• New paths to provide improved access across the site. 

Five new chalets were transported onto the site this week. The chalets are constructed off-site by contractor Ardbeg Modular and transported in sections, then assembled at Double Dykes. The site works have been prepared by Ogilvie Construction.  

Several factory visits have previously been arranged for tenants to see their new homes being built, to give them an idea of how the chalets will look and the manufacturing process involved.

The improvement project is being carried out in several phases to minimise disruption to residents. The council hopes to complete the project by September 2025.

Housing and Social Wellbeing convener, Councillor Tom McEwan, said: “This is a very important week for residents at Double Dykes. This fantastic project has been several years in the planning and will completely transform the lives of people who live there. I’m sure that residents will be delighted to see the first new chalets arriving and being built. After a long period working closely with residents about how we could transform the site, this will make the project very real for them.

“The existing chalets at the site have been in place for some time and the replacement accommodation will have modern facilities and excellent energy efficiency, helping residents to save on their fuel bills.

“The people who live at Double Dykes are tenants of the council and we have a duty to provide the best services we can for them.

“We have worked in partnership with residents at each stage of the process to make sure their individual chalets suit their needs and that the wider site improvements were what they want. I would like to thank the residents for their support, co-operation and patience during the project.

“Personally, I am very happy to see this project to completely modernise this traditional Gypsy/Traveller site reach this milestone. We will continue to work closely in partnership with Double Dykes residents as we move through the next phases of the project to make sure they have a strong voice in all decisions that are made.”