Cala’s huge Newmachar housing plan approved despite fears it could put pressure on GPs

Almost 160 new houses will be built in Newmachar despite fears health services won’t be able to cope with an influx of residents.

Cala Homes lodged a proposal to construct 158 properties on land at Hillbrae Way with Aberdeenshire Council earlier this year.

The firm’s hybrid application also sought planning permission in principle for two further phases of development which would add an additional 106 and 54 homes respectively.

However, full detailed plans for these won’t be submitted until the first phase gets underway.

Cala’s plans come after fellow developer Scotia Homes hoped to develop the site in 2022 after getting the go-ahead to build on the land.

The proposal went before the Garioch area committee earlier on Tuesday.

Councillors were told that of the 158 homes included in the first phase of the development, 34 would be made affordable.

Two access points would be formed along Hillbrae Way along with footpaths ensuring the new residential area is connected to the village.

Two footbridges will also be built over the burn that will connect to the paths throughout the site.

Cala has proposed to construct 16 different house types at Newmachar, from one-bedroom flats to five-bedroom family homes.

Part of the site was initially earmarked for a new primary school.

But the local authority’s education team believed that any potential pupils moving to the new development could be accommodated at current facilities in the area.

Therefore, it was deemed that there was no need for a new school and the land could be used as housing instead.

Cala development manager Robert Grant attended the meeting to make a case for the Newmachar plan.

Mr Grant added: “Cala are committed to delivering a mix of two, three, four and five bed family, private and affordable homes, much needed for the town and region.

“One-bed flats and two-bed bungalows make up the remainder to provide a range of houses.”

He confirmed that once complete, a factor would be arranged to take on the upkeep of the development going forward.

Councillor Judy Whyte asked if any bus stops would be added, but Mr Grant confirmed there would not and residents would have to use those already along Hillbrae Way.

But he did assure her that if any were needed in the future two phases, that would be taken into consideration during the site design stage.

Despite admitting to being happy with everything Cala had proposed, councillor David Keating had one major worry he couldn’t ignore.

Ahead of the meeting, NHS Grampian revealed that patients from this housing development would be served by GPs in Aberdeen.

The health board admitted that the medical practice in Dyce is operating “well beyond capacity”, adding: “Staffing of NHS services is very challenging”.

Addressing this, councillor Keating said: “I do think we are putting houses up where we’re putting more and more pressure on GPs, which is not helping the retention of GPs.

“But on balance, everything else about this application I’m completely content with, and we do want the affordable housing.”

Councillor Whyte shared the same worry, but didn’t think it was strong enough to reject the plan.

She said: “My concerns are around the infrastructure capacity, particularly for health care, but also for the secondary schooling side of things as well.

“It is going to be quite transport-reliant to access all these facilities.

“But the balance is swinging more in favour of approving this, because I don’t know that we’ve got a strong enough reason not to approve it.”

However councillor Jim Gifford was more optimistic about the plan.

While he noted the “absolutely rock-solid” concerns mentioned by his colleagues, he wanted to see the plan approved.

“This development has been a long time coming… It’s good to see it progressing and it’s a good use of the site,” he stated.

Following debate, the committee unanimously agreed to grant the application.