Oban housing row reaches new heights
A ROW over the height of flats on the Glenshellach estate was not resolved at a meeting of Oban Community Council, in spite of developers being present at the meeting.
Computer expert and community councillor Stewart McIvor said both images appeared to in some way favour either the developers or those opposing the plans.
Speaking on behalf of the planning group, a sub- committee of the community council, Mr McIvor said: ‘After a close examination of both the images I think one seems as though it has been made to look as though it [the proposed development] is smaller than it actually is, and the other bigger than it would actually be.’
A spokesman for the developers explained the images were generated by a computer and ‘should be right’.
The spokeswoman for Glenshellach Residents Association said it had used a fixed point on the landscape and the flats were then generated in regard to that fixed point to outline the height.
The planning application for three-storey flats on the Glenshellach Estate has upset some residents association members who say the area is already overcrowded and that the road in the development will not tolerate any more dense housing. More than 50 letters of objection have been received by Argyll and Bute Council planners.
After the community council meeting, and responding to the concerns raised by the residents association by letter to the community council, ACHA chief executive told councillors he did not believe the current proposals reflected ‘excessive density’.
The housing boss continued: ‘ACHA’s current and proposed housing in Glenshellach amounts to 107 units.
‘Many of our tenants do not own cars and use public transport. The contribution of proposed ACHA homes to increased traffic pressures is on the very margins at least.’
The planning application is one of two for the Glenshellach area.