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A briefing for councillors and communities on the progress of talks over the controversial Park of Keir proposals has had to be shelved.
Negotiations between developers Park of Keir Partners and Stirling Council officials have been extended yet again after the parties failed to reach agreement.
Council planners say outstanding matters on the legal obligation agreement are “unlikely” to be concluded by February 12, the date a meeting was to have been held to update councillors and Dunblane and Bridge of Allan communities on the talks.
The Scottish Government has now given the developers and council officials until March 18 for the legal agreement to be finalised.
Judy Murray is a key backer of the proposal for a tennis and golf centre, museum, 19 luxury houses plus a 150-bed hotel are planned for the greenbelt between Dunblane and Bridge of Allan.
The tennis centre has been touted as a potential legacy project marking the achievements of the Murray brothers, Wimbledon champs Andy and Jamie, who this week both said there had been a general failure in British tennis to capitalise on their success for the future.
While nationally the Park of Keir development has received considerable support, locally it has been the focus of a vociferous campaign from those who fear it will lead to further erosion of the greenbelt.
Stirling Council rejected the development but it was approved on appeal by the Scottish Government in August 2017 despite an independent planning Reporter, who chaired a public inquiry into the proposal, recommending refusal.
Scottish Ministers said they would grant the application – which prompted more than 1000 objections – providing the developers agreed to a number of conditions, the detail of which was to be agreed with Stirling Council.
These included: securing education and affordable housing contributions; an agreement that no further residential development would be undertaken on the wider site; and arrangements to ensure the sports facilities are affordable and accessible to the general public.
Since then the council has been negotiating with Park of Keir Partners and their agents to agree the wording of the legal obligation.
However the Scottish Government has granted several extensions of the timescale allowed for the talks after no conclusion was reached, and there have been concerns locally that not enough information on the detail is being filtered to the communities.
Delay has led to calls from some quarters for council officials to admit agreement is not achievable.
Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Tory councillor Alastair Majury said: “The only way the Scottish Government was able to support this development was by saying it was a national facility.
“Now even that much derided justification is seen to be the sham it always was. Despite the proposal now being labelled for the local area the Scottish Government are still keen to grant them more time. I urge Kevin Stewart [Planning Minister] to finally get his act together and reconsider his original decision.”
Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Greens councillor Alasdair Tollemache said: “The Scottish Government has granted yet another extension, as this saga rumbles on and on.
“I am seriously concerned at the resources, in terms of both time and money, that the council is being forced to invest in this process, which seemingly has no end in sight.
“It is obviously proving impossible for an agreement to be struck. Many constituents tell me they feel that proceeding with this development, while adhering to the conditions imposed by the minister is simply not possible. From the correspondence I have received it seems the community believe that best course of action at this stage would be for the council to acknowledge that no agreement is possible.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “Our officials and the applicant have been working together to finalise a legal agreement to secure the requirements of the Scottish Ministers.
“Discussions are ongoing and the Ministers have agreed an extension for the conclusion of the legal agreement relating to