Home Report Westhill

Westhill is a thriving town in Aberdeenshire with a population of roughly 11,000 residents, roughly 7 miles west of the city of Aberdeen. The town covers the area that was once the Western Kinmundy and Blackhills Farming areas. Westhill is a recent development from the late 1960s intended to provide housing for expanding Aberdeen in the oil boom. The town has a significant industrial base all oil related across engineering, construction, equipment, and services.

Reiterating then, Westhill is mainly a commuter town for residents working in Aberdeen city centre, though a number of residents also commute to the nearby towns and villages like Dyce, Inverurie and Kingswells. However, there is still a significant number of people working locally in Westhill Business Park, which is home to many businesses. It is also experiencing growth, with an increasing number of companies creating offices in the park. Due to the growing demand for offices, many planning permission applications for using the unused land to the southwest have been submitted. Just to the east of the town is the Prime Four business park – on the western fringes of Kingswells – a new prime business park that also houses many companies and again providing significant local employment to residents in Westhill.

For residents commuting into Aberdeen, transport links are well developed by road. The A944 runs straight through Westhill, and this connects Westhill with Kingswells and Aberdeen to the east, and as far as Mossat to the west. The B9119 branches off from the A944 just before Westhill and this route continues towards Echt, eventually connecting to the A93. Bus services are frequent and operated by Stagecoach. The town has no railway station of its own, the closest one being Aberdeen’s.

In terms of local amenities and things to do, there is plenty going on. The town has the usual array of local shops and established chains you would expect. Many of these can be found at Westhill shopping centre, as well as dotted throughout the town. There are also some great independent produce shops as well as boutique gift shops, and some fantastic eateries too. Golfers can enjoy a round at Westhill Golf Club, a challenging and undulating course, which offers some of the best views across north-east Scotland.

As for local schooling then, Westhill has three primary schools: Crombie Primary, Elrick Primary, and Westhill Primary. Westhill also has a secondary school, Westhill Academy. The academy services Westhill, Skene, and pupils in the surrounding area. It was opened in 1979, and since then many improvements and extensions have been made to increase the capacity of the Academy. In 2010 the school came 27th in the league tables for all independent schools in Scotland.