Work completed on new homes for Dingwall
Cllr Angela MacLean; Housing Development Officer Emma Micklethwaite and Cllr Graham Mackenzie pictured outside the new Ross Building flats.
The Highland Council have taken possession of thirty new flats at Mart Road, Dingwall which will significantly enhance the town centre and provide much needed affordable quality housing in the heart of the Ross-shire town.
Re-named ‘Morganti House’ and ‘Ross Buildings’ after Morganti’s restaurant and the previous Council Service Point on the High Street, the flats will provide tenants with warm, affordable and energy-efficient homes within easy walking distance of all the town’s amenities.
The thirty, one and two-bedroom flats have been designed by Oberlanders Architects and built by local developer Ark Estates along with O’Brien Properties, Torrance Partnership, Ramsay & Chalmers and CDMM.
Funding for the project has come from The Highland Council and the Scottish Government.
Housing Manager North, Rory MacLeod said “The thirty flats are a much-needed addition to our Housing stock, which will provide new homes in the centre of Dingwall.”
Local Councillors Graham Mackenzie and Angela MacLean were delighted to view the new properties at Mart Road.
Councillor Mackenzie said: “It is a real enhancement to the town centre and I hope the new tenants will be happy in their new homes.”
Councillor MacLean added: “I was particularly impressed that the ground floor flats are level access making it much easier for those tenants with varying needs. The quality of the design, the construction and the central location are going to make these flats ideal homes.”
All of the flats will be for rent by the Council to applicants from the Highland Housing Register and tenants will be moving in as soon as possible.
In addition to delivering new residential accommodation Ark Estates and their team worked hard to renovate the ground floor shop units fronting the High Street. There are now two retail units for rent, one of which is already open for business. Ark were careful to preserve and repair as much of the original shop frontages as possible, and have provided a signboard on the High Street telling the history of the building and its many uses over the years. The regeneration of the shops was a fantastic finishing touch to this project providing two very smart additions to Dingwall’s High Street.
ARK Estates Managing Director, Willie Gray, said: “As an ex-Dingwall Academy pupil I’m delighted to be back in the town with a development that will provide valuable new housing. It was great to work with The Highland Council to deliver such a successful project that will help breathe new life into the High Street. The feedback we have already had from local shopkeepers has been really encouraging and the feedback for the CH Architecture / Oberlanders-designed building has been excellent too.
I look forward to working with Highland Council again on future developments in the town and surrounding area.”
Photos by Ewen Weatherspoon