Work could soon be under way to transform a “wasteland” former Arbroath sports ground into a development of luxury flats.
The Alexandra Place plan for six two-bedroom homes on the old Arbroath Lads Club ground sailed through Angus development standards committee this week and it emerged there has been interest from prospective buyers before a brick is laid.
Council planning officials saw their recommendation for the Moir Construction scheme backed unanimously by committee members, with local members saying the development would be a welcome addition to the town’s housing market and a long-needed improvement to the prominent empty site.
Moir Construction’s plan will see the demolition of an existing building to make way for the two-storey development fronting Alexandra Place, which planning officials said was a positive addition that gave a continuous appearance to the streetscape.
The application drew a number of letters of objection from neighbouring residents, but council strategic director Alan McKeown’s report highlighted discussions that had taken place over the design of the development and he said repositioning of the flats would result in a less parking-dominated layout and help to address overshadowing concerns.
Developer Gary Moir of Moir Construction said a key attraction of the Lads Club site was the uninterrupted views it will offer across Arbroath’s High Common and beyond to the Fife coast.
“Early responses to the plans, developed in conjunction with the Voigt Partnership, are already proving popular, and it is hoped that this development may start as early as the autumn,” he added.
“Through our experience with other developments in the town, we recognise there is a need for high-quality flats with a target market of those looking to downsize but to maintain an extremely high standard of living space.”
Arbroath councillor Alex King said: “The Lads Club site has been vacated for a number of years and become extremely overgrown.
“It’s not as if flatted developments have not been introduced into this area in the past but now we have objections from people living in flats who are overlooking this wasteland.
“I think there’s a very high level of demand for this type of accommodation in Arbroath, either for those looking to buy it for themselves or from the buy-to-let market.
“Either as owner-occupier two-bedroom flats or starter homes for people in the renting market, these properties will cater for a section of the market that the council is finding difficult to satisfy at the moment,” Mr King added.
He made a request that yellow lines would be put in place around the Albert Place access and along the Alexandra Place frontage heading towards Windmill Brae.
Fellow Arbroath councillor David Fairweather said: “Looking at this, I think the architect has done a first class design job and this will be an added bonus for that area.
“I’m not understanding why people are objecting to this at all and I look forward to this starting as soon as possible.”