Thirty-year scheme for 3000 homes
Stirling’s long-awaited supervillage could become a reality - but take more than three decades to complete.
Developers Springfield Properties has submitted to Stirling Council planners an application for permission in principle for 3000 homes at the site between Plean and Bannockburn.
The proposals include 25 per cent affordable housing, retirement housing and care facilities.
However, the company aims to build them over three decades - at a rate of around 100 each year.
The Durieshill area is around 1.3 kilometres south of Stirling and 1.5 kilometres north west of Plean, bounded by the M9 to the north and east with the A872 to the west.
The 662-acre site is currently mostly open pasture and fields with a number of farms and a few scattered houses, mostly along the Roman Road. Access is via the A872 or along minor roads such as Cadger’s Loan from Plean.
Building would start in 2019/20 with an initial 50 homes, followed by 75 the following year and 100 each year from then on.
The housebuilder originally opened consultation on plans to build the new village last year, lodging a preapplication notice with the council.
However, the supervillage project has had a lengthy and chequered history.
The Walker Group had originally proposed the site for 2500 homes, a choice which had proved controversial with some locals in the Eastern Villages, but it was approved in principle by Stirling Council in the Local Plan in 2004 and backed by the Scottish Executive in 2006 following a public inquiry. The council identified it as a major growth area to deal with the demand for new housing and to “avoid urban sprawl” in smaller towns and villages throughout the council area.
Rival developers including Bellway (Scotland) Ltd, who had interests in an alternative location for a new village at Sauchenford, had then challenged the Local Plan through an appeal at the Court of Session, however the council successfully fought the case with three Law Lords coming down on its side in July 2008.
In the ensuing years, a slump in the property market and construction industry meant the development stalled and failed to come to fruition.
Springfield Properties is believed to have the largest landholding of any private housebuilder in Scotland and in the last few years received approval for a similar 3000 home development at Bertha Park in Perth.
In their plans, Springfield say: “Durieshill is not just about delivering homes. A village core is at the heart of the community which will have a village square and green spaces.
“Alongside the provision of a new community campus, there will be opportunities for a variety of shops, offices, cafes and other commercial activities.
“Subject to further discussions with the NHS, there may be opportunities for health care facilities within the village core.
“An area of employment land for business/general industrial/storage or distribution is proposed at the north west of Durieshill.”
The community campus is expected to include a primary and a secondary school “built modularly over time” and potentially a library and cafe.
A second primary school is also envisaged for a site next to Roman Road, subject to a separate planning application.
The company’s chairman Sandy Adam has said: “The economic benefits of a new village like Durieshill are significant and this is a fantastic opportunity to build a sustainable community for the Stirling area.
“The capital value of the development will generate major employment opportunities as well as providing high-quality homes for a range of budgets.
“We are experienced in delivering new villages like the one proposed for Durieshill and during the consultation period we will be listening carefully to local residents and businesses to help us develop final plans.”