SCOTTISH developer Ken Ross, CEO of Hallhill Developments (HDL), is gifting 34 acres of land to the Dunbar Community Development & Heritage Trust (Trust) in a partnership with the local council and community.
The land has been presented to the Trust for the sum of £1 and was accepted by Trust chairman Norman Hampshire. This brings the total land gifted by the company over the last few years to the local community up to almost 100 acres.
The Trust plans to create a quality path network, a woodland classroom for local schools, a children’s play area, and a football pitch and changing rooms. Other plans, subject to approval, include a skate park and pump track, and a community café. A woodland management plan will also be developed to benefit the community and its wildlife.
HDL previously gifted 15 acres of land which now hosts the Healthy Living Centre, a community sports hub. Land was also provided to East Lothian Council at a subsidised cost to deliver the primary school. In addition, over 50 acres of woodland has previously been gifted by HDL to the Trust, which is managed by Lochend Community Woodland Trust.
Ken Ross is passionate about creating healthy environments for people to live, work and play. His team, together with East Lothian Council, the Trust and others, incorporate active travel, safe routes to school together with access to open space and woodland areas to encourage and facilitate healthier lifestyles in their developments.
Hallhill Developments has been involved in the Dunbar area for over 30 years. An independent economic assessment in 2018 by Mackay Consulting identified that more than 600 jobs have been created in the area.
Ken Ross said, “Hallhill is now an area where people want to work, live, and play. Creating sustainable developments that will help to address climate change and the wider healthy living needs of the community is extremely important and is part of the wider vision of Hallhill Developments. This land is a gift to the local community of Dunbar, via the Trust. We want to see local people having access to this land and utilising it for a variety of active lifestyle purposes. I’m delighted with the plans the Trust have for the land.”
Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council leader and chair of the Dunbar Community Development & Heritage Trust, commented, “I am delighted on behalf of the Trust to accept this further gift of land for the people of Dunbar. This project is a perfect example of how a partnership of the community, council and a developer can work together to create a strong sustainable community.”
