Banchory Local Place Plan Published

The community-led 2025 Banchory Local Place Plan has been published by Banchory Community Council.

Key findings

Banchory has grown significantly since 2001. According to census data, the number of houses has increased by 35% between 2001 and 2022.Including the considerable developments planned in 2023 LDP this will increase to 65%, despite Banchory not being in Aberdeenshire’s Strategic Growth Area, or in the NPF4 growth corridors. Rapid development in Banchory has led to a fracturing of the community, and a feeling of “us and them” both geographically and in terms of community cohesion. Services and infrastructure have not kept pace with the town’s growth; secondary education and health provision are particularly under strain, and roads and transport are poor. Many households use a car to commute to work outside of the town. Deprivation in sections of the town is increasing. We call for a period of consolidation to allow services and infrastructure to catch up with the population growth, resulting in very limited new development for the next LDP plan.

The most valued aspect of living in Banchory is living close and having access to nature. Recent developments are removing and splintering areas of green space and increasing biodiversity loss. We call for safeguarding of all remaining green spaces from development, and encouragement of more wildlife and native tree planting.

The schools and health centre are at the heart of the town. Maintaining central locations for both is important to provide easy access and bring the community together. We call for - Banchory Primary and Banchory Academy to be refurbished/redeveloped on their current premises as a Community Education Campus. - a Health Centre to be developed in Bellfield, expanding the current Banchory Surgery and including access to a wide range of health and wellbeing support.

Public transport is very poor. Despite this, Banchory is included in Aberdeen’s Housing Market. Cars are not a luxury; they are needed to get around. The growth in population has led to significant increase in car ownership, against Scottish Government’s policy on reducing car-based commuting. Cycling and walking are popular but need more support to manage the busy roads, in particular for children. Roads are in a poor state of repair. We call for better public transport and a park and ride/share hub to include EV charging stations, bike sheds potentially a bike rental scheme and showers. We want a 20mph speed limit in the town centre, more Quiet Roads, safe crossings of the A93, and dedicated cycling and walking routes through the town and linking to local communities nearby (e.g. Inchmarlo, Crathes, Torphins, Strachan, Finzean).

Employment is moving away from the oil and gas sector. This will accelerate and it’s important to develop more local industry to create jobs, e.g., in the tourism and education sectors. We call for investment in tourism and education facilities and for a Town Co-ordinator to support businesses.

Banchory needs to mitigate and adapt to the Climate and Nature crises, by investing in net zero projects and becoming more resilient. We call for Communication and Resilience Hubs to be set up in Banchory West and Banchory East along with Resilience Plans, as well as investment in net zero projects.

Our Local Place Plan work has resulted in 10 short-term actions and 12 medium/long term non-placed based actions led by the Community, and 32 place-based proposals, split over 5 themes:

Vibrant Inclusive Community

Connected Place

Liveable Place

Productive Place

Sustainable Place

You can access the whole plan here 2025 Banchory Local Place Plan