Housebuilder Stewart Milne wants to increase the number of homes at its major Arbroath development as it unveils a new range.
The housebuilder has completed 171 private homes at its Monarch Rise project.
In addition, 111 affordable homes have been constructed at the site on the northern edge of the Angus town.
It has now submitted a planning application to increase the number of units on the next phase from 39 to 48.
This is in response to high demand for the development, which is sold out and with a waiting list.
Stewart Milne said construction will begin as soon as permission is obtained.
Plans to create more Dundee homes
As well as Arbroath, Stewart Milne Homes (SMH) is also looking to build more homes in the Dundee area.
In December the firm said it is looking to invest millions of pounds into the city after being stunned at the success of its Ballumbie Rise development.
Earlier this week planning permission was refused for a 150-home development in the Ballumbie area of the city.
The company is targeting a £550 million boost to revenue after unveiling a new-build range aimed at meeting the changing needs of buyers as a result of Covid-19.
It said it was “the most ambitious and comprehensive” redesign of the company’s homes range in its history.
Stewart Milne expects the design overhaul to generate sales of £300m across its current developments in Scotland and north-west England.
It expects a further £250m of house sales in the pipeline over the next two years.
The enforced lockdown has brought into sharp focus the design and functionality of our homes.”
Stuart Henderson, Stewart Milne Homes
SMH said its new homes were “more elegant, spacious and functional”, taking account of growing demand for flexible space, following the coronavirus lockdowns.
The new designs will be available at Stewart Milne’s Arbroath development if it wins planning permission.
‘Extensive market research’
Stuart Henderson, group product and design director, said: “We were undertaking a comprehensive design review of our homes before the pandemic.
“The enforced lockdown has brought into sharp focus the design and functionality of our homes and accelerated the process.
“Unveiling new designs when our customers need and expect more from their homes gives us a competitive advantage.”
Mr Henderson said clear design principles are at the heart of every new design.
“These are – simple elegance, supremely functional and appealing,” he added.
“Our design teams reviewed how people move around and use their home.
“This has shaped the new layouts, which are much more functional, including utility rooms with sinks, showers as standard in all family bathrooms, direct access into gardens from kitchens and utility rooms, larger windows and options for a home office on the ground floor, as well as better usable space throughout.”
The company is also looking at its design of streets, landscaping and green spaces.
Legacy
SMG was founded by executive chairman Stewart Milne in 1975.
Figures posted by the group earlier this year showed it started 2021 with record forward sales of new homes, fuelling expectations of a long-awaited return to the black.
The group said it had secured advance reservations for more than 70% of the 700-plus homes it planned to build this year.
SMG’s timber-kit homes division also started the year with a strong forward order book, worth more than £200m.
