Have developers got something to hide?
Dear Editor
I write regarding the story in the Observer (November 7, 2018) concerning Judy Murray’s Park of Keir development.
The Park of Keir Section 75 negotiations have been ongoing for an unprecedented 15 months.
The key condition –“affordable and accessible”– is at the heart of Judy Murray’s concept, so it is difficult to imagine why it is taking so long. All the rest of the planning process has taken place in public but the developers refuse to allow a transparent discussion of these key conditions, in spite of the obvious public interest. A conclusion many are drawing from this is they have something to hide.
The headline is for work to“start in spring”, which is clearly impossible. Even if the Section 75 negotiations are finalised between the Stirling Council and the developer in the next month it still needs ratification by Stirling councillors. Such ratification cannot be assumed to happen, as the Section 75 Agreement will need considerable scrutiny because it has taken so long to finalise and clearly will be very complex and nuanced. Even if it is finally agreed by Stirling Council, the minister still has to review the agreement before making his final decision. If this happens before Easter 2019 it will be the first part of this protracted planning application to have been done quickly.
Then the developer will need to apply for detailed planning permission for the tennis centre and the houses. This will need to conform to the planning permission as granted, including all the conditions. These new applications will be subject to considerable and rigorous scrutiny and comment by the community to ensure that the developer is abiding exactly by all that they are required to do and that they said they would do.
So it is unlikely that detailed planning permission could be granted before the end of 2019.
On that basis, construction of the tennis centre could not start on site before Easter 2020, giving an earliest possible completion date of summer of 2022.
The article included the quote from Judy Murray: “It will be a mix of sport and leisure. The leisure elements can make the money that will allow us to make the sports, the golf and the tennis, affordable.”
This inability of tennis to operate as a freestanding and self-supporting operation was patently clear from all the papers that the developers presented at the public inquiry.
The developer’s proposal was to make the money required to support the tennis facility from the six-hole golf course and the driving range, which was challenged as not financially possible. There are no “substantial leisure facilities”in the current outline planning application. In fact the proposed leisure activities – the country park and adventure playground – would be free, so they add cost to the operation rather than contribute revenue.
The highly controversial housing element will only contribute £2m towards the quoted £40m.
The proposal has insufficient profit-generating facilities to support a tennis facility of this scale and this lack of long term financial viability is one of the fundamental reasons why the community council consider this an inappropriate site for a facility of this nature especially when other less expensive sites are available.
David Prescott Chair, Dunblane Community Council