October 6 2023

Link Group with Elder & Cannon Architects have completed a third phase of housing at Dunbeg near Oban comprising 300 affordable homes.

The £35m development, delivered with the support of Argyll & Bute Council and the Scottish Government, comprises 260 properties for rent and 40 available on a shared equity basis to alleviate housing pressures on nearby Oban.

Linking up with earlier phases and a central square by a winding drive the new homes sit behind an outer shelter belt of tree planting to protect the exposed site with a hard surface streetscape designed by Gillespies contrasting with the rugged surrounding landscape.

Care has been taken to integrate with the environment through landscaped entry points and the formation of a new pond surrounded by terraced and semi-detached homes.

A fourth and final phase of homes is planned to complete the estate to the north as part of the Dunbeg corridor masterplan.

Images by Lauren Fair at lif photography. 

11 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 6 Oct 2023 at 11:07 AM

Honking -- no thought / no detail / no subtlety.

The 70's will be on the phone soon asking for their design back.

Second rate CDC spec Ravenswood expansion knock off.

Not good -- indeed crap would be too high a complement.

#2 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 6 Oct 2023 at 11:11 AM

UR -- you might want to ask a few questions regarding the financials of this project?

300 units for £35mill looks very low.

Not sure if the £35mill figure equates to the public subsidy needed to make the numbers add up.

#3 Posted by Craigbert on 6 Oct 2023 at 13:10 PM

Having stayed there last weekend, the houses are architecturally uninspiring, but are large, airy, cheap to run, well laid-out and spaced. Benefits of large employment of local SME contractors and actual school-leaver apprentices on-site. It suits its required function well!

#4 Posted by James Hepburn on 6 Oct 2023 at 13:58 PM

That is truly dreadful! Its like some army barracks housing from the 60's. If I were remotely involved in this I'd hang my head in shame.

#5 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 6 Oct 2023 at 14:13 PM

Going by the brochure the development looks like paviour block central / hardstanding to the left right and centre.

Windswept and uninteresting -- so much for the half forest / half housing estate vibe of earlier PR eruptions.

Monopitch roofs / Tefal frontages / 70's New Town design vibe plus volumetric efficiency in negative numbers -- really poor effort.

Sink estate in the making.

#6 Posted by Roddy_ on 6 Oct 2023 at 16:06 PM

Jings - E&C channeling the SSHA circa 1975....

#7 Posted by Showbiz Sam on 6 Oct 2023 at 17:33 PM

Lissen up dingbats, in the language of that era, the main reason why this looks as it does is mainly due to 'cost yardsticks'. Go figure - The rest is all ya de da.

#8 Posted by Amanda on 7 Oct 2023 at 01:32 AM

Jeez i seen this and clicked on it because i thought oh i would love to have the opportunity to live there, when i read the comments i thought harsh, but im not an Architect, Builder or born in the 60's to fully understand the comments made, so if there is a rental available i will have a wee look , i live in central Glasgow, Oban life would feel like a Dream

#9 Posted by Rosco on 7 Oct 2023 at 15:03 PM

What did Oban do to deserve that ?
As if Oban wasn’t dreary enough.

#10 Posted by An actual resident on 8 Oct 2023 at 08:12 AM

Ok well for one it's Dunbeg, not Oban. 2 iv lived in the phase 2 housing at MacVicar Court for 6-7 years now and can atest to the affordablity and necessity of the houses to be modest for young starting families and nest leavers .
3 the new builds of phase 3 are 100x better than our flats that MacVicar and the people in Marina Court have.

And word of warming to all interested, my door frame has slowly overtime twisting away from each end and my plug protectors are no longer flush with the socket behind them, not 100 sure cause I'm no geologist but there mind be some tectonic activity on the land all the housing Phases.

Ps for Glasgow folk , remember the Polis up here a wild, so try and avoid them at all cost if possible. My family came here from Clydebank in the late 70's and trust me they found out the hard way.

#11 Posted by Hairy Hipster on 9 Oct 2023 at 11:42 AM

Is that a bunch of in situ stills from the Tongs film Small Faces?

That looks like the habitat of a few bully XLs.

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