Fears of serious flooding issues on greenbelt land where developers hope to build 48 houses were among concerns raised by residents at a Falkirk Council planning hearing.
The application to build 48 houses on land beside the A803 at the edge of Polmont, Falkirk, returned to councillors at a hearing this week to find out more about the proposals.
This was the second pre-determination hearing on the subject, after a lengthy delay while a dispute over a separate development in West Lothian went to the Court of Session.
Councillors were reminded that the application by Manor Forrest Ltd, is for planning permission in principle to build 48 houses on land to the west of 21 Polmont Park, Polmont Road.
Michael Stuart, speaking on behalf of Polmont Community Council, said they had several concerns about the proposed development, including the fact that it would be built on greenspace outside the village boundaries.
Mr Stuart added that they were concerned that local schools are already at capacity; the development would add to the strain on Polmont’s railway station; while health services are also struggling to cope with numbers.
Another resident, Christine Tait, said neighbours had significant worries about flooding that already happens in the nearby Polmont Park area.
She said: “The flooding is at the stage now where several houses, if they hear of a potential downpour – and we’ve been getting these quite frequently – are putting sandbags at their doors.
“We are really concerned about this.”
She added that they were concerned that nearby water courses include the burn that flows down to the Klondyke site which has seen severe flooding in recent years.
The site has previously been rejected as unsuitable for the Local Development Plan as the government reporter concluded that losing it to housing would narrow the greenbelt between Polmont and Grangemouth to just 200 metres.
Speaking on behalf of the developers, Euan Pearson stressed that the application is for planning permission in principle, which means matters such as design and drainage will be dealt with at a later stage.
He rejected the idea that the development would compromise the greenbelt, which he said, has already been narrowed by recent development including the new Falkirk distillery and the Klondyke Garden Centre expansion.
He also denied that there would be any impact on the nearby Antonine Wall, pointing out that Historic Environment Scotland has not objected.
Mr Pearson accepted that the site is not included in the current local development plan but pointed out that new national planning guidance has set minimum land requirements for housebuilding, “like it or not”.
“You’ve got to find land for at least 5250 houses and you’re not meeting your requirements,” he said.
Mr Pearson added that it was “a nice little site”, just 400 metres away from the centre of Polmont, with easy access to buses, a railway station, supermarket, post office, pub, petrol station.
“You’re going to be hard pushed to find any more sustainable than this and the scale is just one per cent of the overall target you’ve been set,” he told councillors.
The next stage of the application is unlikely to be heard before early next year.
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