Plan for 1,000 new Aberdeen homes moves forward after £11.5m deal is struck

Agreement has now been reached between Aberdeen City Council and housing developers Hermiston Securities who want to build 1,067 properties at the Loch of Loirston.

The proposals were first submitted to the city council’s planning committee in June 2013.

The new deal will see the developer give more than £4million to Aberdeen’s strategic transport fund, which supports major infrastructure around the city.

Hermiston Securities said they are now aiming to begin construction by October this year on the project that is likely to take at least 10 years to complete.

Stewart McPhail, development director for Hermiston Securities, said: “We are committing to making payments to the council over the life of the project.

“We are also contributing to local improvements, in particular we are putting a r o und £ 1 , 076, 000 – £1,000 for each house – into improving infrastructure in the area, such as the roundabout to Cove.”

The developers have also agreed to give £7.6million to the city council to fund a new primary school in the new settlement.

Mr McPhail added: “We think primary schools are a good thing because they help form a community, and encourage people to live there.

“Although it’s a local government requirement that we make a contribution, we generally welcome contributing, and prefer to have the school on our land. And it’s being located, as I understand it, immediately next to the proposed secondary school.”

Plans were initially submitted for a supermarket at the site.

However these were rejected at a planning committee meeting last month after another store was approved nearby.