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Teen |
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Regular Posts: 62  | www.scotlandshousingexpo.com | ||
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| John Wood |
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Regular Posts: 79 Location: Cromarty | It will be interesting to see what this turns out like. It has been in preparation for several years with several postponements and delays, and lots of politics involved. Why is this being built on land that was actually designated as green belt in the local plan? A cunning wheeze perhaps? Milton of Leys was started about 20 years ago by an entrepreneur who then went bust after building a few houses. All sorts of plans were then hatched to complete the development, including a film studio, theme park, hotel and so on none of which ever happened. Lots of people saw this as just another way to try to re-start development there. At one stage they planned to hold this in August 2009, with another one in 2011, and so on, but that didn't happen. Last autumn the site was still empty with nothing there at all. There still seems to be some doubt about whether this will actually open on 1 August ... The Fair seems to be just a collection of houses - it isn't too clear how they sit in context... there's nowhere on the website you can get any idea of the overall site layout... Any local shops? Allotments? Even the bus service will stop when the Fair is over. How many of these houses will be 'affordable'? No straw bale houses here! Call me cynical but we'll have to see how green all this really is... See this story from January 2009 on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7837383.s... John | ||
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| Martin |
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Veteran Posts: 275  | I don't know the answer to all these questions, and the little I know comes from an e-mail exchange last year, so may be out of date. I believe 40% of the houses are being built by housing associations, with half of these being rented and half being shared equity. There is a Milton of Leys Development Brief which envisages amenities, including shops and school, being built by 2013. The organisers of the Expo have given over several acres to the community as green space, so there is scope for this to become community woodland - if the residents want that. And the organisers were hoping to establish allotments on part of the site, but I don't know if they resolved the access issues there. Any building project has negative and positive consequences, but I think the Expo has the potential to demonstrate the gulf between what can be done relatively easily and cheaply to make new houses energy-efficient, and what is currently being done. I agree "we'll have to see how green all this really is", and from what I hear, if folk are planning to visit, they may find things aren't all that finished when the Expo opens, so it may be better to visit later rather than sooner. John may or may not be a cynic, and I may or may not be naive, but I'd say go and have a look, ask questions, and form your own opinion. | ||
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| Teen |
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Regular Posts: 62 | There has been a lot of flak levelled at the Expo, not all of it fair or accurate. It's worth noting that similar events are regularly held in countries like Finland, which are undoubtedly light years ahead of us when it comes to sustainable design. I agree with Martin; go and check it out for yourselves then make up your mind. And spare a thought for the poor sodden souls currently scrabbling around on site to get it ready! | ||
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