Kevin Stewart MSP, minister for local government and housing, has visited the award-winning Polnoon neighbourhood in the village of Eaglesham in East Renfrewshire to see how the design of this unique housing development is making a difference to the lives of its residents.

Polnoon is an innovative development of 124 high-quality, energy-efficient one- to six-bedroom homes which was the result of a collaboration between Mactaggart & Mickel Homes, architects Proctor and Matthews, roads engineers Waterman Boreham Transport, East Renfrewshire Council and the Scottish Government.

The aim of Polnoon was to take the Scottish Government’s design advice, as outlined in their ‘Creating Places’ and ‘Designing Streets’ policies, and turn it into reality in order to champion good design.

Polnoon has been designed to be a safe place where pedestrians have priority over cars. The development features interconnected shared areas which include streets, lanes, courts, a central square and children’s play parks, encouraging interaction between neighbours and creating a community feel. Whilst Polnoon is a modern development, its design is in keeping with the architecture of the historic village of Eaglesham. It has scooped several housing design awards, including a Saltire Design Award for Innovation in Housing and Best Medium Development at the Homes for Scotland Awards.

The development’s final phase is due for completion later this year.

Mr Stewart said: “It’s great to be here in Polnoon today to see first-hand what can be achieved in a residential development where the focus is on designing quality housing, streets and public spaces. The Polnoon project has taken Scottish Government planning policy and applied it to show how it can work successfully; the result is an excellent sustainable design which enhances the environment for residents.

“Thanks to the attention to detail that has been given to how the streets and houses relate to each other, Polnoon is a neighbourhood that feels spacious, welcoming and significantly different to most other housing developments. I am confident that Polnoon will eventually become one of Scotland’s ‘Conservation Areas of Tomorrow’, which is one of the aims of the project.”

Andrew Mickel, director of Mactaggart & Mickel, added: “We’re pleased to welcome the Minister to Polnoon, which is a development we are very proud of. It has been built to stand the test of time and is particularly unique, as it caters to the needs of pedestrians rather than vehicles. Polnoon showcases what can be achieved by taking a fresh approach to development design and focusing on community and sustainability.”