Public consultation to be held on plan to build homes on former Aberdeen academy site

A public consultation is to be held on plans to build homes on the grounds of a former Aberdeen academy.

Atkins hopes to build more than 200 flats and houses on the former Kincorth Academy site on Kincorth Circle.

As it is considered a major development, a proposal of application notice has been submitted to Aberdeen City Council stating the firm’s intention to hold a consultation event to allow residents and interested parties to discuss plans with developers ahead of plans being formally submitted.

The plans include 213 residential units, which will be a mix of different types of social rented accommodation.

If approved, there will also be streets, parking and amenities connected to the development created.

It is expected the community consultation will take place in either October or November, with a date still to be confirmed due to Covid-19 restrictions. The developers have proposed both physical and virtual events.

A statement from Atkins Limited said: “Please note that due to government and local authority restrictions currently in place as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the precise format, date and location of the pre-application consultation event are subject to confirmation.

“A virtual event is proposed in addition to any physical event, in order to provide members of the community who might not be able to attend a physical event, with the opportunity to review and comment on the proposals.

“Details of the proposed virtual event, as per the physical event, are subject to confirmation, ensuring government and local authority guidelines are adhered to.”

Drawings submitted alongside the proposal of application notice show there will be four different unit types, including 154 one bedroom and 32 three bedroom apartments, as well as two different types of three bedroom terraced houses, 27 in total.

They also show that there would be 149 spaces for apartments, and 54 for terraced houses.

Council co-leader Jenny Laing said: “We have got ambitious plans around our house-building programme and we want to deliver 2,000 by 2022. It’s important we maximise the sites under our own ownership, and Kincorth is one of those.

“We are looking to develop the sites we have, like Kincorth, but we are also working with developers who are coming forward with their own proposals.

“We are also looking to buy back former council properties with the aim of increasing the number of houses we have under our control, so we can then help people who are sitting on our waiting list to secure a home.

“It’s important to make sure everyone who requires a home has the opportunity to access one which matches their needs and the needs of their families. We also want to make sure the houses we are building are of a really high standard.

“We are introducing a gold standard which is all about energy efficiency in the homes and creating community environments on the sites we are building on so people really have the benefit of living in energy-efficient, cost-effective homes moving forward.

“That means the running costs for them will be low, but it also means the homes will be efficient and goes towards meeting our emissions targets.

“The end result should be second-to-none and we will have real quality housing accommodation in the city which people will enjoy living in.

“As local authorities, we should all be striving for that gold standard. Sometimes it can be difficult with the properties you have already – you can carry out adaptions within them, but it’s difficult to get them up to a higher level.

“When you’ve got new-build opportunities, it’s vital to make sure they are greener and cheaper for the people who are going to be living there in the future. It also feeds into our environmental targets which are so important to everything we are trying to achieve.”