Moray Estates has been building Tornagrain near Inverness since 2018, with expansion plans in place over the next 50 years. The new town is designed to help with demand for housing in the Highlands where population growth and the increasing popularity of short-term lettings for tourists has made it difficult for locals to buy homes.

The first 250 homes are now complete and the build of the next 500 - a mix of one and two-bedroom flats, two, three and four-bedroom houses is underway. Affordable housing will also make up 30 % of the next phase of development.

To support the expanding town, Moray Estates secured funding from Bank of Scotland that will be used to widen the road from the A96 to Tornagrain. Due to complete in October 2022, the new road will allow improved access for residents and facilitate the growth of the new town.

As well as new homes Tornagrain will also see the development of three primary schools, one secondary school, offices, libraries, churches, and leisure facilities. By 2060, the town will be home to more than 10,000 people, a town similar in size to Nairn or Forres.

This latest support from Bank of Scotland follows an initial £7m funding package that supported key infrastructure for the new town in 2018.

Andrew Howard, managing director of Moray Estates, said: “As a business, we can trace our relationship with Bank of Scotland back to 1695. We’re hugely thankful for the ongoing support we’ve had as it’s played an integral part in the creation of this new Highland town.

“Tornagrain is designed around fostering community. The emerging town already has a grocery store, pharmacy, nursery, allotments and other community amenities which will be shortly joined by a new café. We’re now really excited about this next phase of the building and look forward to welcoming more people to their new homes.”

Michael Thomson, relationship director at Bank of Scotland, added: “Moray Estates is one of our first customers so it’s hugely rewarding to be able to support the business continue to thrive in the housing sector. Creating new places to live and work is essential to the Highland community where demand continues to rise for all types of homes.

“We’ll continue to stand by Scottish firms across all sectors to help them grow and prosper and look forward to seeing the next phase of Tornagrain welcome new people to the area.”