Plans for mixeduse site catalysing £100m agri boost
● Aim to create 2,000 homes and hi-tech industrial facilities on poultry farm site
Plans have been put for ward to create a ne co-friendly, mixed-use development on the site of a poultry farm in West Lothian, including up to 2,000 homes, and helping plough more than £100 million into the Scottish food and agriculture sector.
The“ambitious” project would see the Drumshoreland Garden Community built at the current Clapperton poultry farm complex, east of Livingston, in a move also expected to create employment on the back of new industrial facilities.
The Clapperton site, owned by Amber REI (Agriculture), is described as a key component of the Scottish poultry supply chain, but currently comprises “ageing” poultry sheds and surplus land.
It is expected that the value realised from the development will “act as a catalyst” to deliver the £100m investment into food and agriculture through the company’s poultry supply chain operations across Scotland.
The initial plan is to improve, replace and expand elements of the Scottish poultry supply chain, boosting the “significant” rural employer with “state-of-the-art”, low-carbon facilities. Plans include redeveloping existing feed mill at Edinburgh Airport and a new animal feed mill in the Firth of Forth along with new sustainable farming space across West Lothian.
This is forecast to deliver jobs directly and indirectly through the supply chain, help improve standards in the sector, and make a “major” contribution to the Scottish Government’s target of a net-zero society in terms of carbon emissions by 2045.
Up to 2,000 homes (including 500 affordable homes) are proposed, and will be brought forward by El an Homes( Scotland ), a sister company of Amber REI. It is hoped that the low-carbon community will help address a “significant” historic housing land supply problem in West Lothian, as well as encompassing employment, education and other community facilities.
The development will also seek to embrace the philosophy of “a 20 -minute neighbourhood” where people can meet most essential needs within a walk of this length.
Two planning permission documents have been submitted to West Lothian Council. A spokesperson from Amber REI (Agriculture) praised the “exciting” proposals being bought forward.
They added: “As an exemplar, low-carbon community, Drumshoreland will not only deliver much-needed housing, including affordable ho using, but employment, education and community facilities. It will also deliver significant post-Covid investment into the poultry processing supply chain across Scotland, creating jobs, both directly and indirectly, as well as delivering a low-carbon future for the agriculture sector. This new sustainable neighbourhood will not only help to meet the housing needs of both this and future generations, it will also deliver a clear investment legacy across Scotland.”