Building 150 new houses on greenbelt land in Falkirk would help meet a shortage of new homes across the district, housebuilders Taylor Wimpey have told councillors.
More than 90 objections were received to Taylor Wimpey’s plans for housing on land at Roughlands Farm in Carronshore, which were first submitted to Falkirk Council in July 2022.
A lengthy delay to proceedings was caused by a separate planning appeal which went to the Court of Session but on Tuesday evening the application was once again in front of councillors.
Given the delay, a second pre-determination hearing was considered necessary to give members the opportunity to find out more about the plans before making a final decision at a future meeting.
Members heard from the developers who said the site is “attractive and accessible”.
The application is for planning permission in principle, so much of the detail has not yet been finalised but planning agent Colin Lavety from Stantec said the development would include 37 affordable homes.
He added that there would be a large amount of open space, including play areas, and said the intention is to plant more native species and retain trees and hedgerows where possible.
Falkirk Council’s Transport Planning Unit has raised concerns about access to the site but Mr Lavety said there had been ongoing discussions and he believed these could be addressed.
The proposal contains two access points, one off Roughlands Drive and one from Webster Avenue, and a full assessment of traffic impact will be done.
There will also be a walking and cycling path along the north boundary, while there are options to create a pedestrian link to the south.
Many of the objections focused on fears about road safety and higher volumes of traffic as well as the impact more homes will have on schools, particularly Larbert High School.
The pre-determination hearing is a chance for councillors to request more information and members had questions about the £750,000 that will be requested as a contribution to education.
They were keen to get more detail on how the money would be used as Larbert High School is at capacity and there is limited space to extend.
Two members of the public attended the hearing, who raised concerns that they had not heard about the meeting in advance.
Members were told that all objectors had been sent a letter in advance of the meeting and officers promised to investigate further.
Mr and Mrs Dalgleish said they were also worried about the capacity of Larbert High School and the local NHS as well as the impact of more cars on busy roads.
They were also concerned that the view from their home, across farmland as far as the Forth bridges, would disappear with the new housing.
Councillors once again criticised NHS Forth Valley for not responding to a request for information about how the new houses would affect local health services.
The planning application will now be submitted to the planning committee for a decision, although members heard that is unlikely to be this year.
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