Turfbeg development could be under way by the end of summer

17.7 hectare housing development will include 36 affordable homes

Work on more than 200 new homes on the north-west edge of Forfar could begin before autumn.

Guild Homes has lodged proposals for the Turfbeg site, close to the town’s new £38 million community campus, with full consent for 236 houses, including 36 affordable homes, being sought.

The site was safeguarded for development in the 2009 Angus local plan and permission in principle granted in September 2015.

It extends to 17.7 hectares, reaching close to the Kirriemuir junction of the A90 and bounded to the south by existing housing and the east by the newly-opened community campus, including a replacement Forfar Academy.

The proposals include a community shop and open space areas in what will be a second major Forfar project for the company following its Restenneth Fields development in the east of the town close to the Montrose road.

In its planning submission for Turfbeg, Guild Homes states: “The anticipated housing demand at Turfbeg is likely to be 50 per year.

“Therefore, it is the intention of Guild Homes to bring forward a phased development with four blocks of development work anticipated.

“On receipt of detailed planning consent it would be the intention to undertake the initial infrastructure work in Autumn 2017, with the first house units completed May 2018.”

Two access roads will be provided to the A926 Kirriemuir Road, with a link road also connecting to Taylor Street to the south.

The company said local consultation had generated concerns about an increase in traffic from the Taylor Street access, but the firm has pointed out at the development of the new community campus has removed much of the Forfar Academy traffic, including school buses, away from that street.

The firm also intends to address worries over a loss of view to the Angus glens for residents of Taylor Street and Lochbank Gardens by restricting housing along the southern boundary to single storey.

They say the development will comprise a mix of homes, from one-bed cottages to five-bed detached properties. ...it is the intention of Guild Homes to bring forward a phased development with four blocks of development work anticipated

Picture: Kris Miller. Guild Homes has submitted plans for 236 homes at Turfbeg, below, near the town’s new community campus.