Scotland's newest town welcomes first residents

FAMILIES have just moved into the newest town which is being built in Scotland for over 50 years.

Madeline and Jonathan Hewitt, along with daughter Millie move into their new house on the Tornagrain new town development. Pictured with John Stuart, Chairman of Moray Estates.

Tornagrain is the vision of Moray Estates for a new town between Inverness and Nairn.

Tornagrain has started life as a village which will expand in planned phases over 50 or 60 years. Ultimately it will be home to more than 10,000 people, a town similar in size to Nairn or Forres.

When completed the new town will include some 80 hectares of parks and open spaces, three primary schools and one secondary school. Shops, offices, libraries, churches, healthcare and leisure facilities and community halls all form part of the blueprint.

The first residents have just taken possession of their new homes.

John Stuart, Earl of Moray, said: “Today is the culmination of many years planning and research into how to create a new town which is a special place to live and fosters a strong sense of community.

“We’re delighted that so many people share our enthusiasm for great design and want to come and live here. The real heart of any community is its residents and it is tremendous to be able to welcome them.”

Construction of the first phase of 200 homes at Tornagrain is well underway with 42 of the properties built by house builders ZeroC and A & J Stephen already reserved.

Interest has also been shown in three of the commercial properties.

Infrastructure work at Tornagrain has been supported by a £7 million funding package from Bank of Scotland.

At this stage there is a mix of one and two bedroom flats and two, three and four bedroom houses on the market.

Michael Thomson, relationship director at Bank of Scotland, said “Tornagrain has been a very exciting project to be part of. It’s not very often that new communities are created, and this is the first of its kind in the Highlands for many years.

“We have been supporting Moray Estates for 300 years and are committed to helping Scotland prosper through the house building sector. Housing construction is vital to the Scottish economy, contributing £1.6 billion per year. We are therefore proud to be delivering the support the sector needs to meet the rising demand for affordable housing in the Highlands.”

Dominic Fairlie, Director of Scottish Operations for housebuilders ZeroC said, “We are delighted to have played our part in reaching this significant milestone in the story of Tornagrain.”

John Stephen, Managing Director, Stephen said, “We are very pleased to be contributing to this fantastic new community.

“We will be providing a range of homes to suit today’s modern lifestyles which are already proving extremely popular. We very much look forward to welcoming the first of our Stephen home purchasers in the summer.”