Housing plan for old lemonade factory site
Proposals get tentative welcome from community
Turnberry Homes wants to build 24 houses and nine flats on the grounds of the Struthers’ Krystal Klear factory.
It has lodged an application for works after a community-led campaign to open a microbrewery failed.
Construction would see the industrial units flattened to make way for two and three-bedroom homes.
The proposals have been welcomed tentatively by families, who are keen to see the crumbling buildings made safe.
Fiona O’Neill took to social media to call for change.
She said: “I definitely think out of all the possibilities, this is the most viable and acceptable for the village.
“Struthers’, sadly, is an eyesore and, worse than that, I fear someone may get hurt or worse, climbing on it the way we have seen of late.
“The plans seems to fit into an imprint already, so there may be least change that way.”
Laura Telfer echoed her comments, but encouraged the developers to make use of the factory’s spring water source.
Others urged caution and warned local resources would need more funding to cope with an influx of families.
Kirstie Paterson said: “If this gets the go-ahead, Lochwinnoch will need a bigger school.”
Blueprints filed with Renfrewshire Council planners revealed details of the proposals, which would bring the brownfield site back into use.
Struthers, which produced well-known soft drinks such as Koala Kola, shut its Church Street factory in 2006, after nearly 100 years in the village.
The community buyout group wanted to open a museum, workshops or brewery.
A previous bid to purchase the site failed, after a £2million price tag was slapped on the centre.
Scottish ministers insisted they would only back plans for a local takeover if residents showed willing.
They ordered a ballot, with community leaders needing to win at least half the votes on a turnout of 50 per cent.
They won 90 per cent of the votes – but only around one in three people bothered to take part.
The group wanted to bottle and sell spring water from a well that was used to create the former owner’s drinks.
A decision on the planning application is expected next month.