Councillors gave the go ahead for the masterplan, a collaboration between Moray Council and Altyre Estate.

The £7.5m Housing Mix Delivery project, part of Moray’s Growth Deal, is jointly funded by Moray Council and the Scottish Government. This initiative aims to unlock sites for housing across Moray, with investment being directed towards sites in Speyside, the Buckie coastal area, Forres and Elgin. The Scottish Government is investing £5m, with Moray Council providing the remaining £2.5m.

The Dallas Dhu development aims to create a sustainable community with multi-functional outdoor spaces to encourage physical activity and food growing.

Phase one will consist of:

• 24 affordable homes
• 40-bed student accommodation developed by Altyre Estate to satisfy demand from students studying in the local area
• Four serviced plots for custom-built housing
• Six serviced plots designed as a Housing Innovation Area

Chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee, Councillor Marc Macrae, said: “This marks a significant milestone for the project, and it’s encouraging to see the progress made from the teams involved.

“This decision brings us one step closer to delivering affordable, accessible and sustainable homes for the community, and I look forward to seeing how these innovative plans come to life.

Director at Fraser/Livingstone Architects, Robin Livingstone, added: “The project offers an extraordinary opportunity to create a landscape-led community of homes that carefully mediate between town and rural landscape. The range of tenures and house types will cultivate a mixed multi-generational community within a walkable, vibrant, green and sociable new community that’s woven into, and informed by, the qualities of the existing context.

“We commend the innovative collaboration taken by Moray Council and Altyre Estate, which has afforded a more integrated approach in the design of the scheme, and we look forward to working together towards the successful delivery of the project ambitions.”

A spokesperson for Altyre Estate said: “We are delighted that this collaborative project is progressing well and look forward to seeing this important first phase of development deliver much-needed homes and accommodation for Forres.”