Designed in a traditional style by Ben Pentreath Architects, Tornagrain is an emerging new town located to the east of Inverness. As well as delivering 5,000 new homes in response to increased housing demand in The Highlands, the development will provide extensive community infrastructure including schools, shops, health, leisure and employment facilities, with an expected completion date of 2070. Developer Moray Estates aims to create a model town for the 21st century that fosters a vibrant and successful community. So far, several hundred homes have been completed, with further phases under way. Source:Ben Pentreath Architect's voice Achieving a high-quality bar is complicated on any new housing development, but is especially so when the scheme is as ambitious as the new town of Tornagrain. The brief to succeed is fundamentally set by our client, Moray Estates, which takes a long and patient view on its development goals. We have been given time and space to consider local precedents of plans and building types and have an ongoing engagement. The project has had significant financial challenges. Housing values are relatively low, so the margin to create something special and still generate some land value is tight. It has led to some value-engineering. I feel this has improved the scheme, as it is simpler, and that is creating a restrained beauty of its own. Ben Pentreath, founder, Ben Pentreath Architects   Project data Location Tornagrain, Inverness Type New build Context Rural Planning permission date October 2013 Completion 2070 (anticipated) Construction cost £1 billion Construction cost per m² £2,260 (excluding infrastructure) Construction cost per home £255,544 Number of homes 4,960 Housing type Houses and flats Mix of homes Percentage of 1B2P: 6%, Percentage of 2B4P: 36%, Percentage of 3B5P: 40%, Percentage of 4B6P: 18%, Percentage of 5B8P: 0.01% Site area 250ha Density 26 homes per hectare Development area 507,000m² (residential only) Height 1-4 storeys Tenure mix 40% shared equity, 40% mid-market rent and 20% social rented Percentage of affordable housing 25% (whole site) Aspect <100% dual-aspect homes Client Tornagrain Client type Private Architectural appointment Invited competition Procurement Design and build Design or Quality Review Panel review Yes Design team novation No Design guardian role retained Yes Main contractor Places for People Main structural system Timber frameAdvertisement Environmental data Annual carbon emissions Unknown Operational energy use Unknown Onsite energy generation 45% (via local biogas and PVs) Average energy bill per home £727/yr (for 4B6P house) All-electric No Post-occupancy evaluation undertaken Yes U-values Walls: 0.17 W/m²K, Roofs: 0.10 W/m²K, Floors: 0.14 W/m²K Airtightness at 50Pa 3.4 m³/h.m² (Plot 64) Source:Matti Kremer Resident's voice When I first drove through Tornagrain, I was really surprised at how charming it was. It was the cutest place you could imagine. The houses are so beautiful. I bought my first home here in 2022 – a two-bedroom semi. It has been a wonderful home. I’ve recently purchased a four-bedroom detached house in the village and will be moving in very soon. The village is a real community. There are green open spaces, community gardens and orchards, and lovely paths that wind though the village. We also have our own community association, website and newsletter. Best of all, we have our own village shop, pharmacy and a fabulous café. Soon we will be getting a primary school, doctor’s surgery and more shops. I would not live anywhere else now. Suzi Source:Matti Kremer Client's voice Moray Estate’s vision is the creation of a traditional market town, very like the market towns so enduring and popular all over Scotland. We intend Tornagrain to be a thriving, complex, resilient community, where residents can live, work and find the services that they need in their daily lives. We have come to understand that these things don’t happen by chance, rather that they are the consequence of how a community is planned, what amenities are provided and how that is stitched together in the town plan. We appreciate the benefits of compact, walkable streets designed for people and not, primarily, the car. We would like to see a place develop where the social and health benefits of a community, in the widest sense, are allowed to flourish. John Douglas Stuart, Earl of Moray and landowner