Falkirk Council: Concerns raised over plans for 150 houses on farmland in Carronshore

At a pre-determination hearing, which was livestreamed on YouTube on Thursday evening, two members of the public spoke of their concerns about a proposed development on five hectares of land belonging to Roughlands Farm at Mill Road, Carronshore.

The hearing was set up to allow councillors to hear from the developers and objectors and ask for more information where necessary before the final decision is made.

The application is for planning permission in principle and developers Taylor Wimpey told councillors they believe the small section of farmland – bounded by Webster Avenue, Roughlands Drive and New Carron Road – is very suitable for housing.

Planning agent Colin Lavety said they believed the site would “round off the existing settlement edge” to Stenhousemuir and Carronshore.

He said they are aware that there are concerns about the three cottages on the site but told councillors that this is a “private, legal matter between the landowner and their tenants”.

Mr Lavety added that issues raised in community consultation such as traffic, biodiversity and ground conditions, have all been addressed in supporting information.

One objector said she was concerned the loss of greenbelt would lead to increased flood risk, in particular to lower areas of Carronshore where flooding is already an ongoing problem. She was also concerned that the money provided to improve health services would not help with the NHS’ recruitment problems.

She said: “I don’t understand how that money can be spent when our hospitals and GPs are currently at capacity and over-capacity and struggling to retain and hire staff.”

Another objector added that there are real worries that Larbert High School is already one of the biggest schools in Scotland.

Richard Teed of the council’s children’s services said that the school roll is set to rise and they “will have to manage that somehow”.

Members heard that with a school roll of 2048 pupils, Larbert High School capacity is now 94 per cent, despite the fact that the council has spent £3 million on expansion on top of £18 million relocating Carrongrange High School to Grangemouth to allow the Larbert school to expand.

A rising roll would add to the pressures on the school and that would need to be looked at as they go through the process.

Local councillor Gary Bouse said that flooding is a real problem in the area and he asked that as much information as possible comes forward before any decision is made.

Councillor Bouse also said he had concerns about the capacity at Larbert High School, saying he had seen how high pupil numbers had been in Kinnaird Primary school, in comparison to what had been expected.

“There are only so many sardines you can put in a tin!” he said, and asked for full figures about what numbers can be expected.

Mr Lavety said the developers had been talking to children’s services and the company was prepared to make a contribution of more than £600,000 to help local schools cope. While he acknowledged the application was for planning permission in principle, he said it was vital to get full information before that it got to the detailed planning stage.

The final decision will be taken at a future meeting of Falkirk Council’s planning committee and convener Billy Buchanan said that councillors will go on a site visit beforehand.