Firstly we extend a warm welcome to all residents and trust you will enjoy living in this beautiful and unique estate!
Edzell Woods is located in Aberdeenshire but has a DD9 postcode (Brechin). It is 2.5 miles from the A90 and is equidistant from Aberdeen and Dundee. It is very near to the villages of Edzell, Fettercairn, Luthermuir and Laurencekirk. Nearest towns are Brechin (8 miles) and Montrose (11 miles).
Edzell Woods is unique in layout due to the vast amount of green open space. This makes the estate an ideal and safe place to raise children.
This ex- Ministry of Defence (MOD) site, previously known as RAF Edzell, was set up in the First World War and extended considerably during the Second World War. In the mid-1960s the site was leased to the US Navy until 1997 until the base was closed and the site put up for sale. The married quarters (houses) were purchased by a developer, and the first houses were sold to individuals in 1999. The site currently comprises of 144 houses and 2 “non-domestic” properties (Ship’s Inn and Halsey School). The airfield and administrative buildings are currently privately owned by a local landowner.
The houses are situated in a large parkland site served by roads, street lighting and drainage, all of which are commonly owned by all property owners and it follows that both the legal and financial responsibility is a liability of each and every owner. Privately owned communities are now becoming more common as councils no longer adopt and maintain communally owned land. In the case of Edzell Woods, Aberdeenshire Council were approached to adopt the roads, pavements, and lightning, as were Scottish Water with the sewage system, both declined to adopt any of our infrastructure.
The understanding is that it is perfectly clear in everyone’s title deeds that none of the infrastructure and open spaces is the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council as the Local Authority. Each property has, as written into their titles and burdens, various responsibilities and liabilities relating to the common development areas and the sewage treatment works. It is essential that any future development on the estate contributes to the upgrading of the infrastructure to enable it to be eventually taken over by the local authority.
Edzell Woods Community Trust Ltd (EWCT) is a fomally constituted group consisting of the owners of all properties on the original housing estate. Previously known as the ‘Edzell Woods Owners Group’, it was set up as a result of the extraordinary general meeting on 26 May 2002. The name change representing a different approach to resolving the difficulties within Edzell Woods.
The complexities EWCT deal with include, acting as property manager for the estate infrastructure and common areas, balanced with meeting the needs and expectations of the home owners, not to mention the inherited legal complexities of the ownership of the common development ground and the need for future development to help make the estate sustainable.