Land use debate for the heart of Aboyne

Allach Field is at the centre of debate regarding land use.

Residents and the Mid Deeside Community Council have lodged numerous objections, with no supporting comments, to a proposal to build several houses on the site. Many envisage an alternative use for the land as a community meadow or resource.

Aberdeenshire Council Marr Area Committee members are currently weighing a decision on this matter.

The site, known as Allach Field after the adjacent woodland, slopes steeply down into the Tarland Burn just north of the Aboyne Heritage Path and adjacent to the Aboyne Conservation area.

It forms a continuous wildlife corridor along the Tarland Burn linking to the woodlands and hills in the grounds of Aboyne Castle.

Residents value the site for quality of life, biodiversity, and the visual impact on the character of the village. Other key resident concerns include the impact on the Tarland Burn of construction and flooding, the proposed development’s design, layout and materials clash with adjacent Victorian-Edwardian granite properties and raise significant privacy concerns.

Resident Steve Garrett said: “Resident views on the proposal are harmonious with Aberdeen City and Shire’s Strategic Plan 2020 Vision 'be recognised for … unique built, historic and natural environment, which will be protected and, where appropriate, enhanced as a key asset in underpinning a high quality of life and place’.

“There is no strategic need for additional housing in the centre of the village given the ongoing major development on the western fringe of Aboyne at Castle Park, and the proposal contradicts many aspects of the Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan 2017.”

Another resident, Isabel Davies said: “One of the charms of the village is the mix of green spaces in amongst the housing. There are plenty of other plots where houses are and can be built, this space should be left undeveloped.”

James Littlejohn of Aboyne Climate Group said: “The heart of Aboyne needs to keep its wild spaces and none more important than the habitats along the Tarland burn. We should reject building on such spaces.”