Housing plans changed
ALTERATIONS have been made to a controversial application for a new housing development in Sorn.
Plans were submitted to East Ayrshire Council by LMA Architects, on behalf of Campbell Homes, for the new development off the B713 Catrine Road at the south end of the village.
The original plans set out a proposed development of 29 properties on the site - six of them with five bedrooms, 15 with four, and eight with three.
However, an amendment to the application now shows that one home has been removed from the original proposals.
Under the revised proposals, there is no longer a house planned for the north-east corner of the 1.98-hectare site - nearest to the three neighbouring properties - while minor alterations have also been made to the layout elsewhere in the development.
Campbell Homes purchased the site from the previous owner, Hope Homes, for an undiscosed price in 2021.
The plans, originally submitted in June 2022, have sparked a backlash from locals, with many
voicing concern at the potential for road safety issues.
Others have pointed at the infamous housing development a short distance away in Woolmill Place, where 12 properties have lain abandoned after work began in 2007 - and ground to a halt soon after.
A total of 22 objections have been lodged with EAC against the Catrine Road plans so far, with the most recent published on the council’s website in early October last year.
One objector who lives nearby,
and close to where the nowremoved 29th home was planned, said: “The proposed site is currently home to fields and trees.
“My house sits at the bottom of these fields and trees on the opposite side of Catrine Road.
“These fields and trees soak up a considerable amount of rain water, they in effect act as a sponge.
“I ask the obvious question therefore, what will prevent this rain water from running down and flooding Catrine Road, the pavements on either side, my garden, my driveway, my home?”
A design and access statement by LMA Architects, lodged alongside the formal planning application, stated: “The vision is for a place that sits well within its own landform and introduces open space and feature buildings to create focal points in views from and to the proposed development.
“As a company, Campbell Homes recognises that in today’s market, home buyers are looking for top quality finishes and comfortable living in a pleasant environment at affordable prices.
“For that reason, they continually strive to innovate in design and construction techniques to ensure that every home built meets its owner’s expectations.”
The original application was given a determination deadline by East Ayrshire Council in September 2022, but no decision has yet been made either by officials or by the authority’s planning committee.
The application, along with supporting paperwork and all of the public comments that have been made so far, can be found online by visiting eplanning. east-ayrshire.gov.uk by searching for reference code 22/0420/ PP.