The Princess met with tenants and visited the new homes, as well as one of the original houses, before being introduced to Trustees and staff at the Trust’s head office.

A.K. Bell, the Scotch whisky entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the Gannochy Trust, is the inspiration behind the new housing, which was opened in October 2020. When A.K. Bell built the original estate in the 1920s, he wanted to create homes that promoted health, wellbeing and a sense of community. These are key design principles behind the new estate, which was built as part of the 75th Anniversary of the Trust, founded by A.K. Bell in 1937.

The Princess was impressed with the new homes, which range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom houses with generous gardens. The development is helping meet a local and national shortage of good quality houses for rent, providing long term security for the Trust’s tenants.

The new development is underpinned by three core design principles, inspired by A.K. Bell; ‘Healthy Homes for Life,’ ‘Lifetime Neighbourhoods’ and ‘High Quality Design,’ which aim to improve health, accessibility and connectedness for tenants, with the flexibility to adapt to their needs as circumstances change. These guiding principles will help the Trust provide rented accommodation to a wide range of people, from small families to single people of all ages, including those who need additional support to live in their own home.

In addition to the new housing, the Trust is also working hard to enhance the environment by improving existing buildings, natural habitats, biodiversity, and the wider estate.

The Princess was also interested to learn more about the Trust’s wider work in supporting the local community of Perth and Kinross and improving people’s lives. The Gannochy Trust provides annual funding of around £5 million in grants for the delivery of charitable work and capital projects locally and across Scotland.

David Gray, chairman of The Gannochy Trust, said: “It is an honour to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to the Gannochy Trust today. The Princess has a long history of supporting charities across the region. We are delighted to show her our work, including the new exemplar housing.

“I believe our founder A.K. Bell would have been proud that so many of his guiding principles have influenced the design of the new homes, and have been duly recognised by a member of The Royal Family.”