A proposed development of apartments overlooking Rubislaw Quarry is up for approval with Aberdeen City Council next week as it plans to inject a new lease of life to the area, bring investment to the city and create hundreds of jobs at this crucial time.
The development ‘Rubislaw View’, consisting of 245 two and three-bedroom apartments is being brought to the city by Canadian real estate company, Carttera and represents an investment of £70million to the city, at a time of significant economic uncertainty.
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Last year, the development – which is planned for the North side of the quarry – went to public consultation and in response to feedback, the developers and planners significantly reduced the size of the plans in height, length and area.
Within the planned development public spaces will be created to provide walkways around, and viewpoints of the quarry for the first time in 40 years. In addition, the plans include a public bistro and communal landscaped areas, designed to optimise existing planting. For residents of Rubislaw View, a private gym and function area will also be available on-site.
The apartments will be only the second development in the city to operate under the Private Rental Sector scheme (PRS). The scheme is directly promoted and endorsed by the Scottish Government, and is said to be the future of the property market as it aids first time buyers who are finding it increasingly difficult to make it onto the property ladder.
The design of the apartments went under a lot of consideration and was given its look to stand out and offer the development an interesting silhouette and local distinctiveness. The design of the apartments has taken inspiration from undulating profile of the Scottish landscape whilst the ‘‘stacked’ feature of the residential units has been designed to reflect the blocks of granite cut from the quarry for over 200 years and used in the construction of many local and international landmark buildings.
Founding Partner of Carttera, Jim Tadeson, said: “We are glad to see that Aberdeen Planning has recognised the significant steps we have taken to address concerns raised with our prior proposal. We are confident that we have successfully addressed these issues with this new proposal, having reduced the scale of the project by almost 20% with 54 fewer flats, reduced the height and massing, and respected all legislative, Scottish National Policy and Guidance, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire’s strategic plans, and local requirements.
“The project will provide the public with unfettered access and views to the quarry for the first time in over 40 years, with a public walkway spanning the length of the site, together with a bistro displaying heritage artefacts and images from the quarry operation. This in addition to the over £3.3 million of contribution we will be making to affordable housing in Aberdeen, and over £250,000 towards education, open spaces and paths in the community. We believe we have listened and been responsive to the requirements and concerns of the community, and hope that our proposed investment in the local Aberdeen economy of over £65 million will, now more than ever, be something that is of interest to Aberdonians.”
Dr Maggie Bochel, Aurora Planning, said: “We are very pleased with the officers’ recommendation of approval of the application. Our client has worked hard to address the reasons for refusal of the previous application, including the scale and visual impact of the building, and the officers’ committee report is clear that they have succeeded in doing that. The report also confirms that all concerns raised by objectors have been carefully considered by officers and concludes that these have either been addressed in the revised scheme, or are unfounded with there being no reasons for refusing this application.”
