SUPERVILLAGE OF THE FUTURE
Three decades of work at new development
Three decades of building work is expected to begin next year between Plean and Bannockburn after Stirling Council approved plans for a new 3000-home ‘supervillage’.
Members of the council’s planning and regulation panel approved an application by developers Springfield Properties for the site at Durieshill this week.
The application is one of the most extensive and complex single development proposals that has been seen in Scotland, with 163 conditions attached to the consent.
Construction of the village is expected to support hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships and support the local economy.
The development includes 3,012 new homes (2,116 houses and 896 flats) and 30 units designed for residential care. There will be a 25 per cent affordable home provision, with 2,279 market homes and 763 affordable homes. Springfield expects to begin work on site by late autumn 2020 with the first homeowners moving in some time in 2022.
However, the panel heard the
development – which is set along a central “spine” of Roman Road – would be carefully phased over the next 20 to 30 years, with 50 homes being built in the first year and 73 in the second, followed by around 100 annually in subsequent years.
How infrastructure and facilities would also be phased to balance with the housing was also part of the detail of the application.
The application includes a village “core”, within which 15 shops and other commercial units are proposed, including a café, which will be concentrated around a pedestrianised civic square. There will also be a 30bed care home, designed principally for people with dementia and respite care, plus a business park, comprising offices and light industrial units, with the potential to support 612 jobs. A community campus will accommodate a primary school and secondary school at the site and, while both would serve Durieshill, there is potential for future phases to accommodate pupils from other future developments within the Bannockburn High School area.
The proposals also provide for a second primary school within the northern portion of the site, which would accommodate pupils generated by the development.
Councillor Alasdair MacPherson, said: “This planning application has undergone rigorous vetting, attention to detail and scrutiny from officers and councillors to ensure the developers provide a village that is fit for the 21st century, offering an attractive place to live, work, learn and play for everyone.
“The village at Durieshill will deliver a wide variety of homes for a range of different budgets, including a large number of new, high-quality, sustainable affordable homes, as well as access to employment and a range of high quality local facilities.
“Robust planning conditions have also been agreed to protect the amenity of existing West Plean residents.
“This decision marks a key milestone in the history of Stirling’s housing provision and I look forward to seeing these new properties become homes for people in the years to come. The development will also provide local jobs and funding for the redevelopment of Plean Country Park.”
Vice convenor Councillor Danny Gibson added: “These plans will help deliver a vibrant, sustainable community for the Stirling area, providing new employment opportunities and delivering economic benefits, as well as educational and leisure opportunities.
“The village will provide sustainable transport opportunities for all modes of travel, providing safe and convenient walking and cycling to all local facilities and high quality and frequent external public transport links.”
Innes Smith, CEO of Springfield Properties, said: “We believe Durieshill is the largest detailed planning application to have been approved in Scotland.
“This will be our fourth village development and this consent is an important milestone in the delivery on our strategy.
“Our villages are designed to accelerate the provision of the many new homes needed across Scotland as well as provide everything a community needs to flourish. We will now work diligently to ensure everything is in place to commence work on site at Durieshill by late autumn 2020.”
Robust planning conditions have also been agreed