Eton Avenue
Eton Avenue, Dunoon
Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA)
The £1.46 million development was delivered through a funding partnership between the Scottish Government, Argyll and Bute Council and ACHA, and the properties were built by local builder, John Brown (Strone) Ltd.
The brief for this project was to design between 4 and 6 houses for this restricted site near Dunoon town centre. The street already comprised of an initially elegant terrace of stone-faced houses. At first glance these houses looked fairly decent, with dressed stone frontages and large bay windows. The reality of these houses however was that they had become incredibly dilapidated over the years. With dampness, poor thermal quality, and cramped spaces they were beyond any economic repair.
The new development comprises a two-bedroom bungalow, a three-bedroom bungalow which is suitable for wheelchair use, and 2 x four-bedroom detached houses. Three of the properties were designed to meet the particular needs of families on the housing waiting list, and all the homes have been designed to the Scottish Government’s greener standard which includes the provision of air source heat pumps, providing a higher standard of energy efficiency.
For the initial two houses we had two separate OT teams in addition to ACHAs own OT we held a meeting with them and the client team. From a design point of view this was a great insight into what design elements we could all bring to bear to make the lives of these families, the parents and the children so massively better. The remainder of the site was populated with affordable units.
One of the new residents, Mrs MacPherson, added: “I couldn’t be happier with my new home. I was like a prisoner in my last house. My quality of life here will be so much better.”
