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In 2020, The Dufftown and District Community Association (DDCA), supported by the Communities Housing Trust (CHT), carried out a housing needs and demand analysis in Dufftown. This showed that there is a substantial need for quality, affordable housing in our community. Since then, we have formed a partnership with Moray Council to deliver affordable housing on the Hillside Farm development site in Dufftown. This will include a mix of DDCA community-led homes and Council social rented housing, with the remainder of the site likely to be private owner-occupancy housing.

The first phase of the project is to develop a concept masterplan for the site. This will create a framework to deliver a development reflective of the character, history and built heritage of Dufftown. Collective Architecture, with Narro Engineers, have been awarded the contract to develop the masterplan, which in now in development. The masterplan phase is 50% funded by the Dorenell Windfarm Community Benefit Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland. The remaining 50% of the masterplan is funded by Moray Council and the Scottish Government, ss part of the Moray Growth Deal’s £7.5m Housing Mix Delivery project.

To ensure that the masterplan is grounded in community needs and priorities, a community event was held on Wednesday 9th August in the British Legion Hall, Dufftown. The event was well attended, throughout the course of the session we had over 50 people taking part and sharing their thoughts. All of the information and opinions gathered at the event are incredibly useful to the Design Team as they begin developing a housing strategy which will be on show at the next Consultation Event in November.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your insight, thoughts and concerns regarding new homes at Hillside Farm Dufftown. Below is a short summary of the feedback gathered from the community event and in written form after the event.

What facilities are missing in Dufftown or what could be improved?

• There were overriding feelings that the town centre of Dufftown was losing key amenities due to service closures
• Socially there are a range of venues that host weekly local clubs that are well attended by older residents.
• There was a desire for amenities and outdoor facilities that would cater to the younger demographic of Dufftown, both present and future residents of the town.
• There was also suggestions regarding tourism, facilities for campers, EV charger, tourist and local history and information building.
• Improved local transport and questions around local healthcare and developer contribution were raised.

Moving around and Site Entrance Scenarios.

• The majority of people said they currently travel locally around Dufftown by car or foot. Some said they would use the bus more to travel to nearby towns if it ran more frequently or they lived closer to a bus stop.
• Improvements to the Market Green and ‘arrival’ to Dufftown alongside a new junction were seen as favourable. Planning for pedestrian safety was seen to be a priority, along with reducing car speeds into the town and the green.
• There was general support for a new bus stop in proximity to the market green. There were strong concerns from some residents around the placement of a bus stop next to their homes.
• Residents adjoining the new prospective road junction expressed concerns around traffic, noise, and visual appeal, it was understood that these options would be developed more fully to understand their feasibility and impact.

Site Opportunities

• Enhancing the existing environment and safeguarding the historic trees on the corner of the green was seen as a priority.
• Many people were interested in how local ecology could be conserved and enhanced through the proposals, perhaps even providing new habitats for insects and swifts.
• As an area in proximity to wind energy generation there was interest in the energy potential of the new homes at Hillside farm; district heating, utilising passive solar gain (building orientation) and energy efficiency (low running costs) were mentioned as ideas.
• People supported making the most of walking connections from new housing at Hillside Farm to the surrounding outdoors. Its also important that the housing feels connected back to Dufftown and that there are car free child friendly routes paths to the primary school.

Site Challenges

• At the consultation we were made aware of potential drainage issues to the site boundary against existing homes. Note 1: The proposal will improve and deal with existing drainage issues and not exasperate the problem.
• Residents raised concerns around water supply and increasingly drier summers. Note 2: The site will only be developed once there is the appropriate water supply available as seen fit by Scottish Water.
• We were also made aware of sewage blockages and bursts occurring locally and that residents of Dufftown were concerned with new homes placing strain on the existing infrastructure. Note 3: The site will only be developed if the current sewage network has appropriate capacity and or undergoes the appropriate upgrades.
• It was preferable that roads, excessive parking and infrastructure were minimised where possible and opportunities for the landscape to be designed in a way to support water management and ecology.

Greenspace Character

• Ideas around greenspace character areas were generally well received; designing high quality spaces between building would overall assist in creating a rich living environment that would contribute positively to the character of Dufftown.
• Out of concern for existing residents there were suggestions for planting buffer in key locations.
• Low maintenance planting and indigenous species will be prioritised in green spaces. The question of who maintains communal greenspace areas was raised and will be resolved as the proposal develops. Opportunities for gardening should be supported but not as to stretch the workload of community gardening groups.

Responses to New Homes at Hillside Farm

Thank you to Communities Housing Trust that came to support the event! To see more information about potential housing tenures for the Hillside Farm please visit their website.  The community recognised there was a housing need locally for properties that:

• Allowed present residents’ needs to change and be supported without having to move away.
• To provide a variety of options to help for different household incomes; such as low cost rental.
• To help young families find a home locally.
• To encourage people to move to Dufftown keeping the community diverse and welcoming.
• To help key workers and other people essential to the vitality of the community find homes.

More information on the masterplan and the full public consultation feedback newsletter can be found online.

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the September newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

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Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the August newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

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Earlier this summer, DDCA delivered a free eBike loan scheme to promote wellbeing through active travel. 9 participants took part in the free eBike loan scheme of up to 4 weeks per person.

While the free eBike loan was relatively short in terms of time of participants using the bikes, evidence from the participant evaluation indicates that cycling can have an immediately positive impact on people’s mental and physical wellbeing. Furthermore, the scheme suggests that behaviour change in terms of increasing active travel can occur within one month if individuals have access to equipment and infrastructure, such as electric bikes and organisational support. Below is a chart demonstrating that cycling for all types of activities increased during the eBike loan.

For more information on impact and evaluation, read the full report below.

 

The DDCA free eBike loan 2023 was funded by the Moray Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing fund.

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the July newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

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Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the June newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

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As the summer has arrived to Dufftown a group of volunteers helped to get the Tininver Park bike shed tidied up.

It was a real team effort supported by volunteers and generous community members. Andy from Moray Landscapes brought his strimmer to clear the long grass, Hendersons donated paint and brushes, and volunteers from Edrington helped on the day to get the outside of the shed painted. Thank you to all those who helped us spruce up the shed!

 

Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the May newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.

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Sixty four years ago a young Dufftown fiddler, Alex Grant was one of the star turns at a variety concert in the Mortlach Hall along with the Hillside Skiffle Group, Auchindoun WRI and a host of other talented local folk.

A recording of Alex, who died in 2000, will feature once again in a new community concert being planned as the finale of the Dufftown Stories project. The concert will take place on April 21st 2023 at the Mortlach Memorial Hall in Dufftown.

Through the magic of technology, Alex, who was recorded by Edinburgh University for the School of Scottish Studies Archive, will be heard once again, this time accompanied live on piano by Hamish Napier, the Grantown musician. Mr Napier commented, ‘Alex was a great fiddler in his day, remembered I’m sure by many and we thought that it would be a great idea to include him in this modern-day version of the kind of event that was once popular in the town.’

The item will be one feature of a programme which aims to capture the spirit of the 1959 event and celebrate local musicians and dancers past and present. The 2023 version will showcase local dances from Dufftown Dance Club, tunes, stories and songs from the area, music from popular music club, The Stramash, some poems from editor of the popular magazine and Facebook page Dufftown Speirin’s, Jim Nicol, and a new setting to music of one of Dufftown poet Mary Symon’s best-loved poems. Children from Mortlach Primary will perform songs
written by them at a workshop with Hamish Napier and fellow Dufftown Stories project worker, David Francis.

The project has also produced a ‘Dufftown ABC’, a listing of the town’s distinctive and best- loved features in a poll by townspeople and school children. The ABC has been produced in poster form with illustrations by Aberlour artist, Steve Carroll.

The evening will round off with a dance with music from talented local family Alison and Brona Gillies and their band. Tickets cost £5 (concessions £3, under 16s free) and are available from Costcutter, Balvenie Street, online or at the door. Raffle proceeds to the Mortlach Hall.

Dufftown Stories is one of a series of projects under the banner of The People’s Parish, an initiative of Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government’s Culture Collective programme. The People’s Parish brings together artists and people in local communities to reflect on the places where they live, connecting community, local history, folklore and creativity.

At the end of March tsiMoray held their annual conference for community organisations and the public to come together for sharing thoughts around community-led development in Moray. The theme for this year’s conference was around communities leading the change to help shape an economy that works for people, places as well as the planet. Here is what I took from the day. 

The day offered a diverse  programme of speakers, workshops and networking to build on a shared vision for a community-led wellbeing economy. In my capacity as the community development leader for Dufftown & District Community Association as well as being the deputy chair of the Moray Local Action Group, I was excited be one of the panel speakers to share my experience on the topic. Some of my key points involved how, on the ground, communities are identifying their priorities and embracing partnership working. Last year alone, over £250,000 was distributed through the Moray Local Action Group towards projects where communities identified what works and is important to them. Communities are also creating an economy that works for everyone through farmer’s markets, community transport initiatives, and community larders. This is an economy that is circular, local, and sustainable. Lastly, communities all around Moray and beyond are recognising and improving their assets. Whether it is a unique building, skills or relationships, these assets are important because they contribute to our sense of identity and pride of where we live.

 

I felt humbled to get the opportunity to hear the other panel speakers share their perspectives on community-led development. Former Welsh Government minister Jane Davidson spoke about their Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, Jane Morrison outlined the core values of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, Hannah Moneagle shared her experience of representing communities to be heard by decision-makers, and Philip Revell reflected on the future of the funding landscape at the National Lottery.

Our current challenges, such as climate change and inequalities, affect us all. The best way to find solutions that are creative, effective and fair is to get people from all generations, backgrounds, and experiences to join in and become changemakers. At the event were snippets of thoughts and ideas documented in a collage by Alexander Williamson. There was one in particular that really spoke to me. I have included a photo below for you to read it yourself.