House plans for old school site

A planning application to build seven detached houses on the former site of Kilmory primary school has been submitted to North Ayrshire Council.

Planning permission was granted in 2008 for the development of five detached houses but applicant architect John Lamb believes there is now a need for cheaper, more affordable homes.

In a statement to support his application Mr Lamb says: ‘Since then (2008) market conditions have changed, with the applicant believing demand for larger family houses in the Kilmory area are diminishing with an increased awareness of a need for more affordable homes on Arran. In light of this, the applicant has re-evaluated the design brief.

‘By increasing the density and reducing the size of each house, the architect is aiming to develop a more cohesive grouping of houses which relate to each other more closely, forming more of a courtyard style of development and therefore, the selling price of each individual house lower and more affordable for local families,’ it states.

The site is bounded to the east by the original part of the primary school which has been converted to form holiday accommodation while, to the north, it is bounded by a stone wall beyond which are trees and an open field. To the west is a wooded slope leading down to the Kilmory Water in the valley below and, to the south, the site is bounded by the C841 public road from Whiting Bay to Lagg.

The concept is to group the houses so that, although they remain detached, they appear to link together to form three distinct groups, providing more cohesion, in a more appropriate massing for their semi-rural setting and avoiding a regimented pattern typical of a more suburban development.