Housing OK’d despite recommendation of rejection from officers
A site on the outskirts of Plean is to be turned into a small housing scheme.
Hescott Engineering Ltd want to build nine new houses and garages - plus alter and extend an existing house - on land at Glen View off East Plean Road and the A9.
Stirling Council planners had recommended the application be rejected, despite no objections having been lodged, however councillors on the authority’s planning panel unanimously approved it at a recent meeting after some felt the site was something of an“anomaly”within the Local Development Plan.
The 0.89 hectares site is south-west of the village in the area known as‘Old Plean’and separates existing residential housing and neighbouring Plean Industrial Estate.
The land is defined as an ‘Employment Safeguarding Area’. While it once accommodated a coalyard, there is now just one house with garden ground and the developers said existing trees and landscaping segregated it from the industrial activities.
Representing architects for the proposal, Neil Macfarlane said the site could be seen as‘infill’ despite technically being outwith the village boundary and described the plans as a“modest residential development”.
Hescott spokesperson Gavin Hepburn told the panel the company had started out 34 years ago in Plean Industrial Estate and now employed 50-60 staff. He said the development would create local jobs for the next two years and that he and a number of other directors of the company already stayed in the area.
Mr Hepburn, who said he had lived in Plean for 43 years, added that the housing was designed to encourage mobility and that he had hopes of some of his relatives being among the new occupants of the housing.
Council planning officer Iain Jeffrey said the anomaly in the LDP was that the site was approved for industrial use but not residential.
Panel chair Councillor Alasdair Macpherson said that, despite the recommendation for refusal from the planners there were“so many positive comments”in their report. Councillor Macpherson, seconded by Councillor Davies, moved to approve the application, backed unanimously by the remaining panel members.