Three homes plan is still on table

Three new homes could still be built between Cowie and Airth, despite concerns being raised by a community council.

Stirling Council planners have conditionally approved an application by John Watson for the renewal of planning permission for three detached houses and associated driveways on land adjacent to the north of North Doll Gardeners Cottage.

Airth Parish Community Council had objected saying the proposal would remove a physical demarcation between the existing Fairfields development in Falkirk District and the expanding developments at the North Doll and The Oaks in Stirling District.

The community council said it would merge the two entities into one large hamlet. It added that the site was not allocated in the Local Development Plan for housing and also raised concerns over roads safety and lack of footpaths along Moss Road, and lack of public transport and amenities.

In their decision, Stirling Council planners said:“the application site, extending to some 0.4 hectares, is currently vacant and is formed of scrub-grass with a scattering of trees around the northern perimeter. The site is approximately 130m to the north of North Doll Farm and lies west of the C3 Moss Road to the east of Cowie and is adjacent to the Stirling-falkirk Council boundary. Vehicular access to the site available from a private access track which adjoins the C3 public road.

“The proposed dwellings are sandwiched between a cluster of houses to the north of the application site within Falkirk Council’s administrative boundary and an established building group located immediately south within Stirling Council’s administrative boundary. The proposed dwellings are very closely related physically and visually to the established building groups both north and south and demonstrate a strong proximal relationship to each, such that they would be capable of being viewed as an obvious residential group within their landscape setting.

“The application site itself is a readily definable site appearing very much as a vacant gap site within its landscape setting.”

The planners added that it was a renewal application and the previous consent was relatively recent, having been granted in 2019.