You do not have to register to be able to use this site.
Simply click on "comments" below and you will be able to detail your views as you wish.
All previous comments will be available for you to view at any time.
You may wish your opinions to remain anonymous, however in order that we may discuss and develop your ideas further, we would be grateful if you could provide basic details (Name & Address) with your comment.
Thank you again for taking the time to provide your inputs.
Martin Lynch
Finance Manager
Balnagown Estates
46 comments:
Villagers progress to date:
We intend setting up a steering group, Tom Anderson will liase with all parties,i.e. Mull Hall, Highland Park, Milton Bowling club, "Bob the Shop", one member from B.I.G and a number of householders from the community. It has been proposed we hold this meeting next week, venue and time tba. I propose at this meeting we select a chairperson to steer this forward.We would welcome any comments whether they be for or against this proposal.If you would like to be involved with the steering group could i suggest you contact Tom or myself in the first instance until a decision is made at the meeting next week. May i reiterate this is not B.I.G, this is a totally seperate entity.
Susan Ross
Eastcombe
contact details:
e-mail:michael11572@aol.com
tel:842276
Susan,
Thank you very much for your note on the site.
As we said at the public meeting, we would be delighted to work with the appointed person to represent the views of all the interested parties.
I would confirm that we do not feel that it is appropriate for us to be part of your steering group.
However if the members of the group require input or clarification on any issues, we would of course be on hand to help.
Thanks & Regards
Martin
How do you intend to distribute the minutes of the meeting to the majority of villagers who DO NOT have internet access?
Martin,
Are you aware that Frank Mullholland has called a meeting of the Highland Park Residents only in their club house for 6pm on Friday in order to formulate a response to yourselves re the development?
He intends that this will not stop his residents from making their own submissions to the media, Balnagowan Estate etc..
Exciting eh?
Dr. Clive Morton
It might be useful if someone could ask BIG and their representatives to stop speaking to the media as if they speak for all Barbaraville residents. They don't. How Munro Pirrie knows that 90% of residents are in favour of the development is beyond me - he's never had the courtesy to ask 75% of them. BIG are good at cutting grass and should stick to that.
Hi I think you are being unfair to Munro he was refering to preople at the meeting and not people in the village, thanks for the compliment to BIG but I think we are quite good at running a playpark applying for grants and bringing events to the village as ell. Why don't you join us and help improve the village -cheers
This developement is the best, and in reality the only viable way that Barbaraville and BIG will achieve its village hall / community social leisure centre.
While the opportunity should not be missed there are genuine concerns in regard to traffic management and access roads.
There is also a concern in regard to the notorious barrier-less Delny level crossing, although to be fair, Network Rail insist that 'open crossings are perfectly safe - provided they are used properly by motorists'.
Planners / developers will need to be aware that 99% (probably.... ) of the village, use the delny crossing to gain access to the A9 when travelling to Alness, Inverness etc.
This developement would at least double if not triple the said traffic through this crossing. Therefore it would be extremely sensible to provide access to this road from the developement (similiar to Mull Hall) which would ease the traffic travelling through the main part of the village cosiderably.
Thereby allowing the maximum of around 100 houses to be built without increasing the traffic flow through the main village.
CORRECTED VERSION
This development is the best, and in reality the only viable way that Barbaraville and BIG will achieve its village hall / community social leisure centre.
While the opportunity should not be missed there are genuine concerns in regard to traffic management and access roads.
There is also a concern in regard to the notorious barrier-less Delny level crossing, although to be fair, Network Rail insist that 'open crossings are perfectly safe - provided they are used properly by motorists'.
Planners / developers will need to be aware that 99% (probably.... ) of the village, use the delny crossing to gain access to the A9 when travelling to Alness, Inverness etc.
This development would at least double if not triple the said traffic through this crossing. Therefore it would be extremely sensible to provide access to this road from the developement (similiar to Mull Hall's Highland Park development) which would ease the traffic travelling through the main part of the village considerably.
Thereby allowing the maximum of around 100 houses to be built without increasing the traffic flow through the main village.
Excellent use of this resource that Balnagown have so kindly set up for this venture Ziggy, a constructive way of expressing one's opinions.
It may be worth noting this site should be used purposely for suggesstions/comments of a valuable and constructive manner.
This involves the community at large and not one particular group!!
Whether you may be for or against the proposals I think it is good that there is channel such as this for people to air their views - not many developers would do this.
As was said at the meeting this is just an outline draft and with input from the community as a whole the final draft should hopefully reflect the concensus of ALL interested parties and address any concerns that we may have regards the effect on the infrastructure of the village.
No doubt there will be lots of varying opinions and views on this, but I just hope that EVERYONE can work together an this for the benefit of the village. I would hate to see a 'polarisation' involving a 'for' camp and an 'against' camp.
Jackie Mitchell
2 Temperance House
If you have a printer attached to your computer why not print out a couple of copies of the minutes from Last week's meeting?
You can then pass them round folks you know who don't have access to the internet. I've already done this with my immediate neighbours.
I'll leave a copy with Bob The Shop and with Beverley at the Highland Park Show House tomorrow.
Can someone make sure that they are pinned up in the Notice Board? Tom who has access to the Notice Board?
John Boocock
"Rosslyn" (next to the Sewerage Pumping Station by the Shore)
john@boocock.net 07770 241390
This is the text of the letter that is going out to residents tomorrow, inviting everyone to a meeting on Thursday 9th to discuss the setting up of a steering group. Feel free to pass it on now though.
Regards
John Boocock
Barbaraville Ross-shire
4th August 2007
Dear All,
We write to invite you to a Community Meeting to talk about how we organise ourselves as a community, in response to the Balnagown Estates development proposals within our village.
The meeting is at Polnicol Hall on Thursday 9th August at 7.30 pm, it is open to all Barbaraville residents and this letter is being distributed by hand to every home from Balintraid to Polnicol and from Portleich to Delny.
Many people came away from last Tuesday’s meeting unclear as to how the venture would progress, the community meeting will enable us all to express our opinions as to the best way for the community to co-ordinate its response and to communicate both with each other and Balnagown Estates.
We envisage an elected group with representatives from all the relevant areas and organisations in the village. We see a group which will work in a collaborative manner, ensuring good communication between all within our community.
We propose that, at this meeting, a Barbaraville Community Steering Group be set up with clear terms of reference and chairperson appointed. We also want to agree how the community will be kept informed of this group's activities and how the community can contribute. Possibilities include a web site and by regular newsletters delivered to all homes, especially as we recognise not everyone has internet access.
This is an exciting and unique opportunity for the village. We feel that a credible organisation, with everybody's support and with good communications will enable our views to be heard and our needs to be addressed.
If you are unable to attend this meeting and would like the opportunity to express any opinions/ ideas, could we ask that you complete the slip at the bottom or contact any of the people highlighted below. A collection box for receipt of items to consider will be available in the shop or you can hand a slip to any of the group below.
Yours sincerely,
Angie Birks
Avril Hutchinson
John Boocock
Susan Ross
Tom Anderson
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tear off slip: please leave in the shop or hand to any of the above
I will be unable to attend the meeting on the 9th August but would like the following to be discussed/considered:
Name:
Contact Details:
I would like to pose the question, as has been asked by many -
Will our homes, particularly those in close proximity to the development depreciate in value?
Following on from the meeting on the 9th August, may i take this opportunity to inform you that we now have a Steering Group representing the local community on the proposed development.
Notes of the meeting will be circulated to all once they have been approved by Mr Smail ( Chair ).
The first Steering Group meeting will be on Thursday 30th August 2007 at 7.30pm, venue to be arranged, all welcome to attend these meetings.We will endeavour to keep the community informed of all progress.
Apologies,
the anonymous person highlighting the above was in fact myself!( too quick with the keys!)
Susan Ross
The Local Plan for the area to be developed only has an allowance for 80 new houses, 50 of which are allocated to the Highland Park development. How does Balnagown Estates intend to increase the 80 to the 150 plus it would need for the development outlined at the Public Meeting on July 31st? Has any discussion taken place with the Planning Department of Highland Council about this? Does this mean that a revision of the local plan will have to be agreed first? Should we really be asking this question of the Highland Council?
Don't Forget tonight's first steering group meeting - Polnicol Hall at 7.30pm. All welcome
John
I fail to see what Balintraid has to do with Barbaraville. The inhabitants there all tend to gravitate towards Invergordon for shops etc.
All very well to have a hall/pub but...where will cars be parked? Will the householders mind traffic and rowdy revellers passing their homes late at night?
If we do get a village hall/pub, its not going to turn the village into a den of ill repute. We have a
a lovely village here and people are only looking for somewhere to meet up and be socialable. Looks like we could all do with it. If we had a village full of rowdy revellers they would be rampaging now without any need of a pub. Don't think we're looking at being the nite spot of the north here.
Very weak argument as regards Balintraid, Anonymous. Yes folk from Balintraid do go to Invergordon for shopping etc., er who doesn't? Since when has there been anywhere else? Perhaps we should set up some gates at Faskally and the Cross House to keep out these loathsome intruders. Yippee! the Balkanisation of a small village in Scotland. And who in their right mind would drink and drive? Householders already have to put up with deliriously jolly septugenarian dog walkers, happy children playing on their bikes, twittering swallows and the odd screaming swan as it dives into the firth for its tea. Lighten up anonymous. We need a social space for the village which is both appropriate and meaningful, a space which will enrich our lives in this beautiful place. We need to be inclusive and we need to be open about how we do that. We need to ensure that all potential users from our immediate area are consulted and we need to present their views in a clear credible manner. All power to the Consultation Group for having the audacity to attempt to do this. Support them in every way you can, be positive, think nice thoughts and above all love thy neighbour.
Nemo
Bully, bool'i, noun. a blustering, noisy overbearing fellow: a ruffian hired to beat or intimidate any one.
Assault, as-sawlt', noun. a sudden attack (Eng Law) unlawful attempt to apply force to the person of another
From Chanmbers 20th Century Dictionary
Understanding anger
It's important to realise several things about anger before you start tackling it. First, anger is a normal process that has allowed humans to evolve and adapt. It isn't a bad thing in itself, but problems occur if it isn't managed in the right way.
Anger is also a mixture of both emotional and physical changes. A big surge of energy goes through your body as chemicals, such as adrenaline, are released.
Once the cause of the anger is resolved, you may still have to deal with the physical effects - all that energy has to go somewhere. This can be taken out on another person, such as a partner, or an object - by punching a wall, for example. This last option can lead down the road to self-harm.
The other alternative is to suppress the energy until the next time you're angry. This may mean you release so much pent-up emotion that you overreact to the situation. Realising this can lead to feelings of shame or frustration when you reflect on your actions, and to further repression of your feelings.
On the other hand, just letting your anger go in an uncontrolled fashion can lead to a move from verbal aggression to physical abuse - don't forget, the other person is probably feeling angry with you too.
But there is a flip side to anger. Because of the surge of energy it creates, it can be pleasurable. This feeling is reinforced if becoming angry allows the release of feelings of frustration, or if a person's response to your anger gives you a sense of power.
It's important to acknowledge and keep an eye on this side of the problem - it can have an almost addictive element.
So the survey has been done.
Has Balnagown Estate seen the result?
Do they have any comments?
Or is their "communitaire" approach just so much "feuilles sur le vent?"
Come on Martin, give us a clue.....
I must state that following supposedly 'consultation' with the inhabitants of Barbaraville and wider community. It seems that the word, 'sham' springs to mind in the sense that Balnagown estates & their developers, along with the inclusion of 'BIG' have already 'done the deal': To gift land for development to the non elected 'BIG' in return for favourable planning application.
This in itself is the way developers across the country operate to secure and maximise their profit making schemes, in a viable pragmatic way.
Unfortunately for residents of Barbaraville (both young and old), parties to the deal are driven by greed and bribery and therefore talk down or dismiss any valid objections or relevant alterations to the development.
Consultation and negotiation are joined at the hip and allowing non elected parties to ‘agree a deal’ before opening up consultation with Barbaraville residents, is total disrespect to them and very shady possibly verging on corruption.
Albeit the deal was to facilitate a piece of land for community use / building on and hopefully, quality housing and other recreational facilities provided for our community, and was probably well intentioned, it was nonetheless disrespectful to say the least.
Remember other recreational facilities would have had to be included for the estate development to get the go ahead.
It seems also that when consultation was opened up it had no credible scoring / voting system based on what impact the different communities / areas were going to suffer most.
For instance residents in Portleich (Craiglea to Crosshouse) & around Mull Hall residential park, Delny station area are going to be impacted more than residents in Sutor view to Faskally, Milton, Balintraid and others.
Finally I will raise issues off access to and from this development.
1. Why is there only one and not two access’s to the proposed development, especially for the size of it?
2. Why is access denied on the Delny crossing road similar to the Highland park development?
3. The Delny crossing road is the recognised and most commonly used road for existing Barbaraville residents to access the main A9.
Even multimap routefinders route through this road for access to A9, see below:
http://www.multimap.com/detailed_print/?print=adir&t=r&map=57.70909,-4.16909|12|4&route=DC,-4.09667:57.72464;-4.24951:57.69346,0|IV18 0ND:IV17 0UY |IV18 0ND:IV17 0UY&c=maps&k=scotland&f=directions
Maybe the Estate / developers and Big will answer the residents of Barbaraville, why it is so important to have only a piece of land for their planned development and to sacrifice the concerns of other residents to this end.
This could have been an excellent bargaining opportunity for Barbaraville village which would have enhanced all of the villager’s lives but I’m afraid, in my opinion this has now been lost by a few unelected people.
Ziggy,(whoever you are)
You make some valid points in your latest post, re access. These will all be dealt with as part of the planning process.
However, I have already made the point that this forum should be used to make contructive points about the development.
You refer to a deal to gift land to BIG.
THERE IS NO DEAL!
THERE WILL BE NO DEAL TO GIFT LAND TO BIG!
Therefore your references to corruption, greed and bribery are refuted absloutley.
This site is only one means of communication that the Estate has set up in order to allow all interested parties to make their views known. We will be setting up further public meetings to advise of progress. At that point I shall be delighted to debate further your points about access.
With respect to the other points that you raise, as I said at the public meeting, "The door is always open".
I apologise for not signing the previous comment.
It was from Martin Lynch at Balnagown Estate
With reference to last nights anonymous comment, I would point out that we received the feedback on the survey on Tuesday evening from a representative of BCG.
The Estate provided feedback at the meeting to the points raised, and I undertsand that BCG is meeting this evening (Thursday)to discuss and agree on their next steps, which will no doubt include feeding back into the community the results of the survey and our comments thereupon. We also intend to hold further public meetings to keep the community informed of our plans.
I would re-iterate what I said at the public meeting, namely that the Estate Office door is open, and I am only as far away as the nearest telephone. You have taken the time to make the comment, give me a call and I'll tell you what I know.
Martin Lynch
Martin,
You state that my points re access will be dealt with as part of the planning process. But you do not constructively include a second access point in your plans which have been circulated.
What reason do you give for this?
Secondly would it not be reasonable for Balnagown estate to invest in the community, where it seeks to make handsome profit from their development, to dual the Delny road from Highland Park access to the rail crossing.
This act in itself would encourage, even embarrass Highland Council to enter into partnership with your estate to dual from Delny crossing to the Bark factory thereby creating a dual B grade road.
After all Highland Council are zoning this area for development, outwith the current local plan limitations, bearing in mind the size of development that you are planning.
In fact let’s see some dynamics being applied by your estate and owner namely Harrods-owner Mohamed al- Fayed, by contributing financially in partnership with Network rail to install barriers at the rail crossing.
There Martin, now we are getting some real constructive benefits to our village infrastructure, which I’m quite sure Mohamed al- Fayed would agree with. Considering he would feel that he would be contributing to our community, by safeguarding the immediate community (along with the wider community) from potential accidents, which have unfortunately occurred, at this particular crossing.
Finally in regards to your initial meetings / consultation with BIG (pre-public meeting) can you publish on this site the relevant points discussed and with whom? This I feel would put to rest the mistrust which has built up within the community.
Ziggy,
I am sorry but I am not going to enter into debate with an unidentified individual.
I have made it perfectly clear that the door is open if you want to talk. Please call the office and make an appointment, whereupon I should be delighted to discuss your allegations of bribery, greed and corruption.
I would ask you to remember that this particular medium is not representative of the views of the whole community. There have been 28 posts including this one. 4 are from me, 6 are from members of BCG, the remaining 18 cover a range of issues. I would suggest that the results of the survey are a more representative sample of the views of the community.
The offer still stands, come in and talk about over a cup of coffee.
Martin Lynch
Martin Lynch
Martin
Entrenchment is usually the final form of defence when things are not going the way one perceives (or costed) it should.
Therefore I do hope you are not ‘digging in’ at this early stage of your campaign, which is to throw up your development based on minimalistic cost to you in outlay, therefore realising maximum profit for you & your associates bonus payments, shares or whatever (greed).
A project of any sort can still be made viable without having to reach the maximum amount of profit. Therefore what is the Estates position on this profit margin? What is reasonable for them to put back into the community that will have to put up with the development, both directly and indirectly during their lifetime.
It was stated at the public meeting that ‘Balnagown estate wanted to put something back into the community’.
I reiterate my previous post and invite you to comment & answer the questions posed in an open and transparent manner associated with a public consultation or the modern internet blog. (specifically created to allow inputs to be provided by interested parties, into the design stages of the proposed development at Barbaraville. As outlined at a public meeting in the Polnicol Hall on July 31st).
Your invitation to meet and discuss over a coffee, in my opinion is probably the cause of mistrust within the community based on BIG being involved before public consultation opened, in relation to this development.
I again reiterate, will you answer in an open and transparent manner when discussions opened with BIG (date), and with whom from that unelected organisation and what was the content of that discussion, for instance was land discussed !!.
I have to state that I along with the community had elected representatives namely MP, MSP and highland councillors. I had not at any time instructed a member of BIG to enter into discussions with private developers that were basically going to affect my life and others within the community.
I am quite sure that BIG directors would not welcome anyone to enter into negotiations as an unelected representative with their employers or mortgage company and then enforce a change of their terms and conditions of employment / mortgage without first getting agreement from them.
I challenge you again to state in an open and transparent manner what dialogue took place with BIG, pre public meeting so as we as a community can move forward without division or mistrust.
I have provided my name and address for you, as requested for you to enter the debate.
Ian Birks (Ziggy)
2 Crosshouse
Portleich
As an interested reader of the blog I see what I would consider very constructive points from Ziggy, now identified as Ian Birks. I feel that the responses posted from Martin Lynch are evasive to say the least, with particular reference to the discussions with B.I.G - whats the problem with answering the questions asked by Ziggy?
B.I.G, as previously stated, are an unelected body, and have a representative on the steering group, so I fail to see the need for B.I.G to be in any consultation with Balnagown Estates in relation to this proposed development.
Seems that all B.I.G are really interested in is a village hall for a swally - that would be great, as the icing on the cake if you like, provided all other more pressing issues are addressed first. Personally I'm more concerned about the increased traffic in the village, the intended traffic calming measures to counter the traffic, the proposed access road to the development and the necessary upgrading of existing infrastructure - e.g I have it on good authority that the current water main is running at its absolute maximum capacity, and has been for some time.
Lets not kid ourselves on here about access - if the proposed single access road, off the main throughfare in the village at the Portleich end goes ahead, the traffic across the railway crossing is going to increase by how much? 500%, 600% as a guestimate? - anyone going North (further than Invergordon) will be up over the crossing and onto the A9 more often than not. So that to me is a serious issue - the current crossing will obviously need urgent upgrading, surely? This is merely reiterating what others have said, so it seems a common thread doesn't it?
I say hats off to the B.C.G for trying their damndest to get all people together and collate opinions - their initiative should be admired.
Martin - we are all concerned residents of Barbaraville who are merely expressing valid concerns. Throughout the blog there have been a number of questions asked of Balnagown Estates, of which the response has been defensive - never mind the coffee, just post responses on the blog so we can all see what Balnagown Estates thoughts are - open, constructive and upfront is what we are looking for.
Martin,
Your silence is absolutely deafening, considering that this blog was specifically created by the estate to allow inputs to be provided by interested parties, into the design stages of the proposed development at Barbaraville. As outlined at a public meeting in the Polnicol Hall on July 31st. (Reiterated at the top of this blog site).
Therefore it must conclude that you have unilaterally closed public consultation, unless of course it meets with your already agreed criteria with other parties.
I, along with other parties directly impacted by your proposed development, will therefore need to consult and pass to our elected MP, MSP and Highland councillors & Scottish Executive, your lack of open and transparent dialogue in regard to answering the previous posts.
I wish to state that results from a survey (which you refer to) without any weighting behind the communities that will be impacted most, is not really relative or reflective of a true impact study.
Ian,
I apologise for not responding yesterday.
I also apologise if you felt that my offer to discuss the matter over a cup of coffee was somehow an attempt to be underhanded.
I must however make it absolutely clear that the purpose of the blog, as you rightly point out, is to allow those interested parties to provide their INPUTS to the design process.
All of your inputs have been received directly by the design team, and by BCG, the group set up by the community to represent the community in this regard.
We continue to discuss our design proposals with BCG in the light of ALL the inputs that we receive, whether they come from surveys, this site, letters, discussions with other local groups such as Milton Bowling Club,Community Council, BIG, Local Councillors (all of whom have been consulted), Highland Council Planning & Roads departments, Scottish Water and any other source.
We have tried to ensure that we take inputs positive and negative into account. That does not mean however, that we can incorporate every suggestion into our plans.
The discussions that have taken place with BIG are minuted as part of BIG's records, but as I have already stated, there is no deal, there was no deal, there will be no deal.
We are now moving forward into the formal planning stage of the development, where, as with any other planning application, you will continue to have the opportunity to argue your case.
Thanks & Regards
Martin Lynch
Martin,
Seems that input is not responded to in detail by you unless it’s over a cup of coffee, within your office where there is no public viewing of your answers.
It will be curious to see if local councillors (having been consulted) along with MP & MSP will be pushing hard to have the Delny crossing upgraded, bearing in mind all of your future customers (and their future constituents) from your development, will be using it on a daily basis.
Interested parties should know that all suggestions cannot realistically be incorporated within your plans, as they have no idea of your projected profit margins that is acceptable to your owner / developer. But what are reasonable points as I’ve pointed out are the impact and relative weighting to residents and certain parts of the community, which will be directly affected and not that of the wider community which will be marginally affected in an indirect way.
Finally as you are reluctant to commit to dialogue over what discussions took place with BIG, you are now passing the buck to BIG, to disclose their minute of discussions that took place. Maybe directors of BIG will publish the minutes for the community to see. I certainly have no recollection of newsletters popping through my letterbox, in regard to BIG entering into discussions with Balnagown estates, representing the community.
Neither was there any postings in newspaper or notice boards.
If Balnagowan Estate really want to make a contribution to the community, what about a footpath to (the perfectly adequate) Polnicol Hall which also has adequate parking?
Martin,
Would you care to provide the community of Barbaraville progress to date!!!!!
Honest and factual.
I support the plans. I live locally, I am not employed by Balnagowan before you all ask but I support the development and potential of these plans!
Surely if you have specific issues you would be better taking Martin up on his offer of a face to face meeting. I am sure you could post your comments and meeting minutes on here afterwards.
Its ridiculous to say "If Mr Al Fayed wants to do something for the community he should build this, fund this, pave this, etc etc etc" Do you not ask yourself why these things are not being funded and developed by your local council rather than demand them from a property developer in exchange for developing property!
At a time when community elements such as Post Offices are being withdrawn from rural areas should we not support people who intend to develop ( wisely and with tact ) such areas and provide services and social amenities.
Launch Of the Future Of Scottish House Building
Aviemore 5th May 2008
1. INTRODUCTION
I attended this event on behalf of the consultation group after being invited by the organisers, Precision Engineered Homes (PEH). PEH are project managing the Balnagown Estates development in Barbaraville.
It was billed as an opportunity to:
see at first hand the advantages of the Weberhaus Build System
see a demonstration of the ease and speed of the initial house build system to wind and water tight stage
view the first Scottish Weberhaus home in Inverness, which is due for completion at the end of May
The day was built around an initial presentation by PEH representatives and the CEO of Weberhaus, followed by visits to a see the initial build of a 410 square metre detached house in Kincraig and the final fitting out of a 450 square metre house in Culloden.
We also had a more technical presentation by PEH followed by a question and answer session with PEH's principles Ken Tod and Mark Nash.
2. PRESENTATIONS
Ken Tod gave a brief history of the company and why they had become involved in Modern Method Construction (MMC)/ Off Site Construction (OSC). They had taken advantage of the current market situation – the state of the UK construction industry and its inherent problems and the opportunities offered by OSC. Primarily the profit margins and the risk elements were more favourable as well as the green nature of the system and the German build quality. The company has both design and project management functions as well as a subsidiary company, Rockmoor land Development which offers support to estates and landowners (the director is Gordon Robertson late of Balnagown Estates).
Dr Ralph Muhleck of Weberhaus gave a short history of his company and how they worked internationally. The company was formed in 1960, started to concentrate on house building in 1970 and is now well established with two factories, one in Cologne and one near Strasbourg. They have a branch office in Switzerland and subsidiary companies in Austria and France as well as sales offices in Luxembourg and Spain. As well as their new UK agents, PEH. This year they will build over 600 houses of which 18% will be exported. The company is using Porsche Consultants to develop its “system of continuous improvement”. All present were given an open invitation to visit the factories in Germany. Weberhaus's website is www.weberhaus.co.uk
Mark Nash explained some of the background to how PEH saw the future of the construction industry much of which stemmed from a failed project on zero carbon homes in Stamford Brook, England and a resulting report by Leeds Metropolitan University. To see a report in the Daily telegraph on this project see http://tinyurl.com/3jd59v and Leeds Met's report at http://tinyurl.com/4bwgkt . Mark also outlined the advantages of the Weberhaus system with its 10 week factory period, 2 to 4 days erection and 6 to 8 weeks fit out reducing site time by 50% per house. The buildings also have a fixed cost at time of order from Weberhaus and fixed delivery times.
3. SITE VISITS
The site at Kincraig is for a four bedroom house with all the trimmings – three en suite bedrooms on the first floor and an en suite guest bedroom on the ground floor. We saw the first walls being craned onto the concrete slab base and then being bolted together by a team of five Weberhaus staff and staff from PEH. The only noise on site was the slow chug of the crane's engine and the men knocking the panels together. Quite unlike the traditional building site. A weblog including pictures of the build will be updated on PEH's website at: http://www.pehomes.co.uk/blog/ . A video is being made of the site progress and it will be made available to BCG
The site at Woodside is altogether a much bigger proposition – with six bedrooms and a one acre site. It was started on January 22nd 2008 and will be completed on 31st may 2008. It was wind and watertight in 6 days, has 1.2 miles of underfloor heating element 1 and a half miles of lighting cable. The house has solar panels on its roof which look to provide enough power to heat the entire house. It's probably worth about £700k.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The system being proposed for Balnagown Estate's development at Barbaraville is vastly different to any other building project we have seen in the village. PEH are confident that they can build houses designed for affordability or designed by the likes of James Denham and his famous Scottish Vernacular designs. The PEH showcase of designs will be rolled out over the next 4 months.
They do not place orders until they have planning permissions in place and they say that from the point of commitment it takes 9 to 10 weeks for the factory to start building the house. Weberhaus have designed an affordable house using their systems and have built them in Hastings, Aylesbury and Lewes in England. They were participants in the £60,000 house competition.
Ken Tod has confirmed that PEH are keen to take members of BCG and the wider community to see their projects and/or to meet and offer up their presentation to the local community. I have confirmed that I will seek further details off him this week.
John Boocock
5th May 2008
Tonight (Wednesday 14th May) members of the Consultation Group meet with members of the Project team and their architect at Balnagown Estate Office.
On Wednesday 28th May a group of villagers from Barbaraville will visit two of PE Homes' sites to see their construction methods.
The following notice has been delivered by Balnagown Estates to Barbaraville Residents:
Community Consultation Day
To Review Balnagown Estate's Development Plans at Barbaraville
Members of the Development Team will be on hand throughout the day to explain and answer questions on the proposed Development
Polnicol Hall
Tuesday June 3rd 2008 - 1.00pm to 8.00pm
One of the villagers who went on the trip to see the PE Homes' sites last week has asked to share this with folk. The writer has asked to remain anonymous.
On Wednesday 28th May, the Balnagown Estate, for the benefit of Barbaraville residents, arranged a visit to the Highland Offices of Precision Engineered Homes. This visit was to show the efficacy of building with pre-constructed sections erected with the minimum of disruption for the local area.
A comfortable minibus took us to the Inverness Offices where we were made welcome with refreshments and a short illustrated talk. We then proceeded to a large house under construction, which was most informative and a delight to view.
Our next stop was at Kincraig, just beyond Aviemore, where we looked at a house at an earlier stage of construction. At the site there was an obvious lack of the usual noise and general mess inherent in normal building practices.
We were accompanied throughout by Martin Lynch, Balnagown Estate General Manager and by PE Homes staff where appropriate.
The tour was well-organised, most informative and clearly displayed the benefits of this type of housing.
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