‘We’ll sort mess’, says derelict land owner
Amenity notice threats for former MFI site
Landowners have pledged to tidy up a site in St Ninians this week after being threatened with an amenity notice from Stirling Council enforcement officers.
Allan Water Developments said this week that attempts to secure the former MFI furniture store site at Maitland Crescent were being thwarted by vandals.
Amenity notices were served in 2011 and 2014 because of the condition of the site at Maitland Crescent, which Stirling Council planners say were “broadly complied with”.
However, the planners now say the site has gone downhill and is proving an eyesore for residents living around the area.
In a request to councillors, planning enforcement officer Lynne Currie said: “The condition of the site has deteriorated significantly since works to clear the site were last undertaken.
“The site is not secure, has been subject to fly tipping and is littered with general debris and waste. Officers consider the condition of the site is having a serious detrimental impact on surrounding residential properties.
“Whilst it is accepted that the redevelopment of the site represents the definitive solution, in the short term it is of the utmost importance that a clearance of the site is undertaken to address the amenity concerns of neighbouring residents.
“In light of this members are being requested to authorise the service of an amenity notice.”
If a planning authority considers the amenity of any part of land in their district is adversely affected by the condition of neighbouring land, they may serve a notice (an amenity notice) requiring steps to be taken to tidy up the site.
A spokesperson for Allanwater Developments said yesterday (Tuesday): “We regret that this site is subject to constant vandalism and the knocking down of the fences we have erected. We have secured the fencing in concrete yet still find the fences getting cut down to enable local residents to use the site as a shortcut to the shops.
“Operatives will attend site today to remove any fly tipping and re-secure the fencing.”
Potential development of the site, which was vacated by MFI in 2003, has become something of a lengthy saga.
The most recent proposals saw Allanwater Developments bid to build 21 houses, 24 flats and 4000 square feet of retail space on the plot, however their application was withdrawn after council planners recommended refusal and the scheme attracted objections of two community councils.
Among planners’ concerns at that time was the monetary contribution towards infrastructure and education provision which is generally expected from those wishing to develop schemes of this size.
The council estimated that £377,128 should be forthcoming from Allanwater but at that point only £40,000 had been offered and there had been no indication that affordable housing was included in the plans.
A supermarket proposal was lodged in 2009 just months after the developers ditched plans to build 17 townhouses and 45 flats on the land.
The store plan was approved but never built. Renewal of permission in principle for the supermarket was granted in 2015, however council planners have previously acknowledged that such a large retail-only proposal is unlikely to come to fruition any time soon.
Agents for the developers have in the past said the site had suffered in the financial downturn and that any development would have to reflect and take into account the historic costs associated with the site in order to prove viable.