YET MORE HOUSES PROPOSED FOR BLAIR
Plans lodged for another 117 homes
Proposals for another large housing development in the community campus area of Blairgowrie have been submitted to Perth and Kinross Council.
A planning application for 117 houses on land between Maple Place and Piggy Lane was submitted to the local authority last month.
It follows hot on the heels of the controversial application for 71 affordable housing units at Blackthorn Place, which is opposite the site of this latest application, and the proposals for the West Park development of up to 400 houses, a care home and retail units just a few hundred yards away.
Nearly 20 objections have been lodged with PKC against the development at Blackthorn Place, with many claiming that the plans include too many houses for the size of the site.
Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council were amongst those who raised concerns about the proposals
for Blackthorn Place, which is situated just across the main access road for the Blairgowrie Community Campus from the Maple Place site.
As well as the density of the proposed housing, residents say there are also issues surrounding the infrastructure in the town and whether it can cope with the significant increase in population size that these developments will bring.
Local Conservative councillor for the Blairgowrie and Glens ward, Caroline Shiers, expressed her concerns about this latest application.
She said: “Yet again this is another application where the density of houses and concerns about access and parking are being raised with me.
“I have contacted the convener of the development management committee of the council to request a discussion about the applications coming forward across Blairgowrie and Glens and the concerns, which I very much share, being expressed by the community about how our infrastructure can cope.
“We already know of issues - especially in relation to accessing health care and other services - and the ongoing proposals for more houses, with no related facilities and services, will just add pressure to already stretched infrastructure.”
Fellow Blairgowrie and Glens councillor, the SNP’s Tom McEwan, commented: “Having only looked at the site plan so far, I can see that Elm Drive and Hazelwood drive will be connected providing options for residents and alternative access to the community campus.
“The plan looks like a standard private development with a mix of house types and I would be interested to know the order houses will be built and over what time-frame, to ensure the impact of another change in this area happens sensitively and gradually.
“I also will be demanding the council and the developer arrange public meetings and an information session to keep residents involved and properly informed from the start.”