Knockroon News
Knockroon at St. James' Palace
10/02/12
The Prince's Foundation for Building Community (formerly the Prince's Foundation For The Built Environment) held its annual conference at St. James' Palace recently. HRH Prince of Wales spoke about the history of the charity and reflected on its work at home and abroad over the past 25 years.
Other speakers included Anne Hope, Director of Hope Homes and TV presenter Kirstie Allsop. Anne talked about the work done at Knockroon.
"The strong working partnership that has been established between the Prince's Foundation, East Ayrshire Council, the local community and ourselves is paying dividends and many more benefits will manifest themselves as the project progresses."
Kirstie Allsop said she was "thrilled" with her first year as an ambassador for the Foundation, and expressed her support for the upcoming work of the charity.
"As the Prince's Foundation moves into the vanguard of this new crafts revolution and seeks to empower the public with these ideas, it's so important that we promote sustainable design in our neighbourhoods and our homes: and that we think about the idea of community and the people that live and work at the heart of these places."
For more information visit princes-foundation.org
Royal Welcome
25/01/12
The difinitive design magazine, Architectural Digest, takes you inside Dumfries House in their February issue. The magazine features HRH, The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, on the cover.
For more information, see www.architecturaldigest.com and www.dumfries-house.org.uk
Auchinleck Academy
19/01/12
A group of secondary school pupils made the trip to Knockroon visitor centre and showhomes this week. The purpose of the visit was twofold. The teenagers are students of both the technical and the language departments at the local academy. The project they were undertaking required them to design an informative leaflet about the Knockroon development. In addition to this, the text will be printed in both French and Spanish.
Our photo shows the talented bunch on site
First entries at Knockroon
21/12/11
How does the song go? I'll be home for Christmas.
This is certainly the case at Knockroon as the first three homes are now fully completed and have been handed over to the new happy homeowners.
We are sure you will join us in wishing them all luck and happiness in their new homes.
Knockroon chosen for Prince's Foundation Christmas card
20/12/11
We are delighted that a view of The Kirk's Alarm at Knockroon has been chosen by the Prince's Foundation to be used on their 2011 Christmas card.
Inspirational Names
16/12/11
One of the most common questions asked about a new development is “Where does the street addresses come from?” At Knockroon, the local area has certainly been the inspiration.
The Knockroon visitor centre sits on the corner of the existing Auchinleck Road and the newly created The Kirk’s Alarm, taken from the Robert Burns poem of the same name which includes a reference to John Kennedy, factor at Dumfries House.
Other Burns connections are Tam’s Close, Meg’s Mews and Hornbook from the poems Tam O’Shanter and Death and Dr Hornbook.
Sir Walter Scott is well represented with Darsie Brae and Milnwood taken from his novels Redgauntlet and Old Mortality.
Cumnock has proven to be a big inspiration to the street names with Castle Court and Castle Walk referring to the ruins of Terringzean Castle close to Knockroon and Bowes Glen from Bowes Farm on the outskirts of Cumnock.
The final street address, Jimmy Boyd Walk, has been named after former local councillor and Provost James Boyd MBE. His late wife was also employed as Secretary to the Trustees of the Marquees of Bute for 23 years.
Complimentary Champagne Tour
09/12/11
All three families who have reserved a new home at Knockroon recently enjoyed a champagne tour of Dumfries House courtesy of Hope Homes and Zero C.
Curator, Charlotte Rostek, personally highlighted interesting features in each of the striking rooms and each family had their photograph taken beside the beautiful Christmas tree in the main hall.
A most exciting and interesting evening was enjoyed by everyone.
The Sawmill
09/12/11
The Sawmill at Dumfries House appears to be part of early 19th century additions which were designed to improve and modernise the estate. It would have been part of a self-sufficient enterprise, with other working buildings such as the stables, coach house, laundry and home farm. Located to the west of the house, beside Polcalk Burn, it would not have been intended to be visible.
The surviving buildings, now in poor condition, should be seen in the context of the water works and engineering required to drive the water wheel which in turn powered the saw.
The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment and The Prince’s Trust are now working in partnership to breathe new life into the former sawmill at Dumfries House.
The sawmill structure and equipment form part of the Dumfries House Estate’s listed landscape. They are presently in a highly dilapidated state and will be returned to full working order. A more recent small building, adjacent to the sawmill, will be replaced with a larger craft workshop.
Two widely acclaimed traditional building skills courses will be delivered from the Sawmill Building Skills Centre: The Prince’s Trust’s Get Into Traditional Building course and The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment’s Residential Summer School. The Sawmill Building Skills Centre will also deliver modules for The Prince of Wales’s Building Craft Apprentices programme and The Graduate Fellowship in Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism.
Hope Homes Scotland are currently working on the conversion to skills centre and are delighted to be involved in this wonderful project.
Visitor Centre continues to be a big attraction.
30/11/11
There has been little drop in interest at the Knockroon show homes and visitor centre since the crowds came on opening weekend at the beginning of October. More than 1,200 people viewed the show homes and saw progress on the development . Since that weekend, interest is certainly not on the wane. An average of 140 people a week look in for information and a tour.
With 19 different housetypes in block one, we are sure to have something to suit you. The Wellwood, 2 bedroom FOG is a perfect example. Priced at only £127,000 this two bedroom flat over garages (FOG) not only includes a single garage but at 82 square metres also has a spacious lounge, two double bedrooms, a well equiped kitchen and a laundry room.
If you a looking for something a little larger then what about the Garrallan at plot 8. This 3 bedroom, two and half storey home boasts a spacious lounge, a large dining kitchen with separate laundry room, a family bathroom, two shower rooms and a double garage. Ideal for modern family living, this plot is available at the amazing price of £175,000.
The visitor centre and show homes are open EVERY DAY between 11am and 5pm where a member of our team would be happy to welcome you and tell you more about Knockroon. Follow the yellow and black signs from the A70/A77 or use sat nav reference KA18 1AN.
Local businesses visit Knockroon
30/11/11
More than 40 local businesses were represented at the recent Business Information Evening at Knockroon.
Opening the presentation, Michael Fawcett, project director of Dumfries House, gave an informal talk on the future plans for Dumfries House. Anne Hope a director of Hope Homes, continued with a presentation on Knockroon and answered any queries raised by the guests.
A tour of the Knockroon visitor centre followed and thereafter a viewing of the fully furnished show homes where the sales advisers were on hand to provide further information and offer tea and homemade cakes to all guests.
The evening proved to be an informative and enjoyable event for all who attended.
Drongan Primary 7s Visit Knockroon
24/11/11
40 pupils and staff from Drongan Primary School visited the Knockroon visitor centre and show homes recently as part of the Education Industry Link that has been in place between the school and Hope Homes for many years.
During the visit the pupils were able to try their hand at many activities including bricklaying, surveying and marketing. At the end of the visit, the children took part in a quiz with lucky winner Bailey Hannah receiving a book token as his prize.
A very enjoyable day was had by all and we are looking forward to another visit next year.
Sorn SWRI visit Knockroon
23/11/11
Members of Sorn SWRI recently visited Knockroon where they had the opportunity to view the show homes and find out more about the exciting new community at Cumnock.
A competition was held amongst Graphic Design pupils of Auchinleck Academy to produce an invitiation for the event. The winning design, by Sarah Paterson, was sent to all Sorn SWRI members inviting them along for the evening. Sarah is pictured below with her parents at the show homes.
Cumnock Round Table visit Knockroon
21/11/11
Members of Cumnock Round Table visited Knockroon recently as part of their November meeting.
During the evening, the 28 eight guests listened with interest to the talk from Anne Hope, director of Hope Homes Scotland, giving further details on the exciting plans for Knockroon, followed by a tour of the showhomes.
Why not arrange an exclusive tour for your club, society or group? To find out more, call us on 01292 590442.
Sky's the limit for Knockroon Business Enterprise
18/11/11
Ian Hope, director of Hope Homes Scotland, welcomed Cumnock and Auchinleck Academy pupils and teachers, East Ayrshire Council officials and staff to the recent launch of the Knockroon Business Enterprise and Skills Centre (BESC).
He said: “We would like to develop a strong bond between business and education and we see this enterprise at Knockroon as an additional bolt-on to support the excellent curriculum already being delivered in schools.
“In the immediate future, we need to get designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling Knockroon products – and the sky is the limit if we get it right. We need to build a student team to help deliver this.”
At the launch event, visitors saw six pupils from each school taking part in learning activities and toured the stunning showhomes – in a street named The Kirk’s Alarm – designed to reflect the rich architectural tradition of 17th century Ayrshire. Every detail is perfect, from the wrought iron railings to the sandstone garden walls.
In a series of training activities over the next year, young people will develop skills to prepare them for the world of work. They will train at Knockroon with skilled tradesmen in civil engineering, plumbing, joinery, planning, electrical work and marketing.
Anne Hope said: “The young people will be working initially on constructing timber garage doors. Some will be based in their own on-site centre, selling products they have created, such as sustainable garden log stores, composters and garden gates. Youngsters will also be given a house of their own to work on, as they learn skills and trades throughout the year”.
Since the visitor centre opened in October, 3,300 visitors have viewed the new homes, with 1240 on the opening weekend alone. The whole development – in which Prince Charles is taking a keen personal interest – will feature 600-700 homes at Knockroon, on the edge of the historic town of Cumnock and Prince Charles’s Dumfries House Estate.
Anne Hope said: “Our aim is to develop a community in which families walk to local amenities such as the village shop. Adam Square will be at the centre of the new neighbourhood, with a public building as its focal point. The mix of homes and workplaces ensures Knockroon will be a vibrant place to work, live and visit.
Councillor Jim Roberts, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “This joint education business initiative presents a wonderful opportunity for local young people to learn from experts in various trades and professions in a real working environment.
“The forward-thinking partnership between Cumnock Academy, Auchinleck Academy, the Council and Hope Homes is a strong one and it will be exciting to see how this develops in the future”.
Higher Product Design Visit
01/11/11
Pupils from the Higher Product Design classes of both Auchinleck and Cumnock Academies visited Knockroon on 28th October as part of the links that are in place between the schools and Knockroon.
During the visit, the pupils were given the opportunity to tour the visitor centre and the show homes, taking particular interest in the exterior finishes of the homes, the street elevation and sign writing.
To bring the visit to a close, a question and answer session on Knockroon was held with Gillian Steele of Hope Homes Scotland as guest speaker.
The pupils are pictured outside the visitor centre with Gillian Steele.
ONE MAN AND HIS DOG
30/09/11
Hoep Homes were delighted to be associated with New Cumnock Sheepdog Trials. Held this year at Brockloch Farm, New Cumnock, by kind permission of the Logan family, this annual event is always popular with the farming fraternity.
ART ON THE WING
29/09/11
Hope Homes sponsored an art exhibition recently staged at Maclaurin Galleries, Rozelle Estate, Ayr. The exhibition was organised by RSPB Scotland, Central Ayrshire Local Group. Paintings, drawings, wood carvings, sculpture and many more art mediums were on view and for sale. Profits from sales go towards conservation, habitat and species protection administered by RSPB Scotland. Excellent numbers through the door realised sales in the region of £15,000. 25% of this will help to secure the immediate future of the charity.
Our photo shows just some of the stunning works with artists which greeted visitors on arrival.
CUMNOCK FARMERS' MARKET
29/09/11
The recent launch of a Farmers’ Market in the Square has recreated the traditional market atmosphere in Cumnock, bringing people in from all over the region and creating a real buzz in the town centre. The market operates on the fourth Friday of every month with a very special day promised for the close of the year on Friday 23rd December.
As Cumnock Town Centre Manager, Kathryn Howell explains: “Cumnock’s regeneration is gathering pace with improvements to the town centre. We’ve got a great venue for a Farmers’ market. The Square really lends itself to a market with the backdrop of the Mercat Cross, Old Cumnock Old Church and the cobbled centre. This series of monthly markets will offer the best in local produce from venison and beef, to Isle of Arran Cheese, seasonal fruit and vegetables and local crafts.”
For more information, contact Kathryn Howell at the Cumnock Town Centre Regeneration Office on 01290 429350.
CUMNOCK TARTAN UNVEILED
11/08/11
Passers by on Auchinleck Road, Cumnock are by now well used to our site at Knockroon being a hive of activity, however recent shenanigans may have raised more than a few eyebrows. The new tartan commissioned for the Cumnock Highland Games was recently revealed with a flourish from the showhomes which are nearing completion. Anne Hope and Michele Walker met with representatives from the Highland Games committee to reveal a bolt of the new cloth, fresh from the loom.
Our photos show the fun and games as they held on to the cloth in strong winds.
Cumnock Highland Games is an annual event held this year over the weekend of Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August. A great day out for all the family was had.
Hansel Supper Club
28/07/11
Hansel Supper Club meet every two months at the Carrick Lodge Hotel in Ayr. Our director, Anne Hope was invited to talk to them about Knockroon, the sustainable extension to Cumnock, on the edge of Dumfries House Estate. All the ladies listened with great interest as they learned about the exciting things happening there. About 60 ladies attend each event and further details can be obtained at hansel.org.uk
HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay at Knockroon
02/06/11
HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, visited Knockroon on Tuesday 31st May 2011 to unveil a foundation stone.
During the visit, the Prince met with invited guests, members of Hope Homes workforce and members of the public who came along to see the unveiling.