Controversial 3G pitch proposal withdrawn
New plan expected
Plans for a controversial 3G sports pitch in Girvan have been pulled.
But objectors are not celebrating, with a new application expected to be submitted soon.
South Ayrshire Council confirmed that the pitch would be relocated as part of a new application.
Objectors said they have been told that flooding concerns - an issue that has been highlighted regularly over the last two years were the reasons they were given for the relocation and need for a new application.
A council spokesperson said: “A new planning submission will be made shortly, there is a slight adjustment to the pitch’s location.”
One objector, Todor Radic, said that a flood risk assessment identifying flooding in the area of Victory Park nearest Wesley Road, was enough to force the relocation of the pitch to a more central location.
Objectors have campaigned against the development, saying that the site was unsuitable, too close to homes and that the use of common good land ‘gifted to the people of Girvan’ was inappropriate.
The 380-foot by 239-foot surface - which could cost £850,000 - will be behind a 14-foot high fence and lit by floodlights nearly 50-feet high.
Residents pointed towards public land near the fire station at Glendoune as a better solution as it was nearer Girvan Academy.
One resident, part of an unofficial campaign against the plan, said at the time the plan was first mooted: “This land was given to the people of Girvan at the end of the First World War in recognition of their contribution. If this goes ahead we will be looking up at the hills through fencing with floodlighting on the top. All we would need is the guards with guns.
“Eight houses would be very badly affected by this.”