Trust to build 12 houses in village

A proposal for affordable housing in Killearn was approved this week despite a recommendation by officials to refuse the plans.

W S Gordon I V Trust had submitted an application for planning permission in principle for three terraced blocks comprising 12 twobedroom homes at a site adjacent to numbers one and two Lampson Road.

The proposal was submitted alongside a second plan by the Trust for a site to the south of Lampson Loan, comprising six four-bedroom detached ‘open market’ houses.

This plan was refused as per recommendation.

A document presented to Stirling Council’s planning committee last week on the Lampson Road affordable housing plans – which also included one detached house for private sale – stated: “Having regard to the relevant policy provisions contained within the adopted and emerging development plans, the proposed development is submitted as an extension to the settlement of Killearn, which is identified in the spatial strategy as a Tier 4 settlement within the Rural Villages Area.

“The spatial strategy provides support for controlled small-scale expansion of existing villages consistent with their limited size and role in the settlement hierarchy, to include new affordable and market housing and local business space.”

Planners told councillors that a recent analysis of the council’s waiting list (summer 2017) indicated that there were 23 first choice applicants for social housing in Killearn.

The Killearn waiting list to lets ratio of 12:1 was the second highest in rural Stirling, they added.

The document stated that the Lampson Road proposal for affordable housing had merit and “may fall into exceptionally allowable development in some cases.”

The issue was that the planning system can only secure an affordable housing contribution – on-site or financial – from the developer amounting to 33 per cent of the total number of housing units on site.

And the scheme represented “only an offer of additional affordable housing, rather than a fully-detailed scheme capable of delivery.”

However, councillors were told that if minded to approve the plans it was important that contributions to the provision of affordable housing had to be secured by, normally a section 75, planning obligation with the developer.

The separate Trust plans for six four-bedroom detached homes were refused on the grounds that they were contrary to Local Development Plans and the Stirling Local Council Plan 2014.