Blackdog set for transformation with major new planning application

Plans for a new £150m mixed use development that will create a new town centre, with housing, retail, leisure and business facilities at Blackdog, five miles north of Aberdeen, have been lodged with Aberdeenshire Council.If successful the development will create significant local jobs including 1,200 during construction and 1,500 full time jobs longer term.The developers – Ashfield Land and local housebuilder Kirkwood Homes – have been refining the proposals since last Autumn, following a wide ranging community consultation with local residents and community representatives which helped to shape the final plans.Located to the east of the A90 trunk road and on the junction of the new Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, Blackdog occupies a prime gateway location on the ‘Energetica corridor’.The site was allocated for future development in the 2012 Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan (LDP). The application will deliver the ambitions of the Blackdog Masterplan that was approved by the Council in 2013 and called for a new town centre with business space and substantial additional housing.Destined to transform Blackdog into a high quality lifestyle, leisure and ultimately global business location, the development will include 600 houses, offices, industrial accommodation, a regional food hall, supermarket, petrol station, hotel, cinema, shops and other leisure outlets and a park and ride facility.Following feedback from the local community plans for a new primary school in Blackdog, which would serve as an important community hub, have been reintroduced.Plans for 600 new homes, including 150 affordable homes, would accommodate around 2,100 new residents and generate around £1.5million in council tax every year.