Public object to 46 proposed houses

MORE than 40 people have publicly objected to plans to build 46 houses at Lonan Drive in Oban.

The application to build the dwellings in Lonan Drive is currently being considered by Argyll and Bute Council.

The subject was discussed at last week’s Oban Community Council meeting, which has subsequently objected to the plans as a statutory consultee.

Duncan Martin, on behalf of the community council, wrote: ‘The junction between McCaig Road and Soroba Road was already overloaded before the primary campus was built. It is now attempting to carry even more traffic. No further development should be permitted until a solution is found.’

He added: ‘Both the water and sewerage infrastructure were designed for far fewer houses than currently exist. Adding another 40-plus houses would mean that they would be serving nearly twice as many as their designed capacity.

‘It is unfortunate that this site was ever designated for development. It is the only green [space] within an area of housing, much of which is at high density.’

Mr Martin also highlighted previous clearance attempts, which he said ‘only seem to have spread the knotweed, which is going to take four to five years to remove professionally’.

These concerns were reiterated by the chairwoman of Oban Community Council, Marri Malloy, who is a resident of the area.

She said: ‘I have got a personal objection. I think it’s nonsense. The traffic would be horrific with another 46 houses going in that wee space. The traffic is already bad on Soroba Road.

‘The sewage was meant to take 200 houses, as far as we have heard, there’s 287 right now. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

‘The water pressure in Soroba is dreadful. If they put another 46 houses, we are all going to suffer. They are making it look like a concrete jungle. It’s a lovely glen that people take their children up and down. If they take that away, we have no recreational space. I can’t understand why they are building here.’

A member of the public said: ‘There is huge pressure on undeveloped land in Oban and this small glen is a haven for both people and wildlife. I don’t deny that houses are needed, but to destroy wild or semi-wild areas like this is little short of criminal.’

A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘The application is currently being considered.’