Fifty acres of land put up for sale
New homes could be built
More than 50 acres of land is being marketed for sale in a move that could lead to 340 new homes.
Three sections of land at Springfield Road, Barrhead, have been identified for housing and their sale could bring in around £10million over several years.
Councillors agreed to move forward with marketing the land at the final full council meeting before the local government elections, which were held last week.
The sale of 53.4 acres of council-owned land to housebuilders is part of a wider development project which includes areas of privately-owned land in Barrhead South, which is being built on by Miller, Avant and Taylor Wimpey. It is expected around 390 homes will be built on the council land, with over 1,000 constructed across the entire development area.
As well as the three areas allocated for sale, there is a fourth area, at Balgraystone Road, where 47 new council houses are currently being built.
Two years ago, the council appointed planning and engineering consultancy Ironside Farrar to investigate any issues with the three sites to help “maximise the capital receipt from the land to be sold”.
Councillors agreed money from the sales could be invested in developing council houses in other parts of East Renfrewshire, potentially Eastwood where there is “significant demand”.
The consultants have prepared a masterplan for the land, which sets out the proposed location of housing, roads and open space as well as drainage works.
Property consultant Avison Young was also appointed to provide advice on selling land and reported “there is good demand in the market at this time which may tail off during 2022”, a council report revealed.
The report added: “Now that Ironside Farrar has prepared a master plan and Avison Young has provided advice on current market conditions, on receipt of council approval it is proposed to commence marketing the land immediately to house builders.
“Given a successful marketing campaign, the total income from this disposal could be in the region of £10m, received over a number of years.”
East Renfrewshire’s affordable housing policy requires residential developments of four or more properties to provide a minimum 25 per cent affordable housing contribution. It can be made on site, off-site or covered by a payment.
Plans for the 47 social-rented homes at Balgraystone Road have already been approved and are under construction. The affordable housing requirements for the rest of the development have been revised.
There will be a requirement to provide 8.5 per cent on-site as entry level for sale homes, 8.5 per cent as an affordable housing payment for Barrhead South sites and eight per cent as a further payment to support the council’s new-build affordable housing programme, which would be paid within 28 days of securing planning permission.