Planners recommend approval of 112-home Springfield Properties scheme at Dornoch, but objectors say houses are being 'shoehorned' into site
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Highland Council planning officials are recommending that an application for 112 new homes in Dornoch be approved despite objectors saying they are being “shoehorned” into too small a site.
Nine objections have been received to the proposed development by Springfield Properties on a 8.6 hectare area of rough agricultural land north of Station Road.
Highland councillors were due to decide the application this week but their meeting has been postponed until Tuesday, September 27 because of the national period of mourning following the Queen’s death.
The planned development is the final stage in a three-phase housing scheme undertaken by Springfield Properties with phase one complete and phase two nearing completion. The total number of houses overall is 194.
However Springfield Properties had to revise its plans for phase three after Highland Council categorised the area of land in question as at medium to high risk of flooding following detailed site inspections and flood risk assessments.
The authority says the Dornoch Burn, which divides the site north to south has a one in 200 year flood risk.
Springfield Properties agreed to leave a larger area than originally planned around the burn free of housing in a bid to mitigate the flooding risk. The developer came up with a revised site design which in effect meant including more homes on a slightly reduced land area.
However objectors say the scheme is now too “densely packed”, particularly around Rowan Avenue. There is also concern over the location of footpaths.
But planning officials say the density is “acceptable” and there is now more scope for amenity areas around the burn.
Dornoch Area Community Council has taken a neutral stance, asking that planners take residents’ concerns around density seriously.
If the application is granted, the area looks set to benefit from £325,000 in developer contributions. These will help cover the cost of adding extra capacity at the local school, and also the development of a new Dornoch sports and community hub.
