Plans for bowling club on hold

At a meeting on Wednesday, members of Falkirk Council’s planning committee voted to continue the matter rather than grant permission, subject to various conditions, for Alpha Glen Developments Ltd to build 15 houses and a retail unit at the former Bowling Club, in Glen Crescent, Glen Village.

The vote was a direct response to residents’ fears over the impact the development would have on parking and road safety.

Councillor Colin Chalmers put forward a motion, successful by seven votes to four, to continue the matter so road traffic impact assessments could be carried out in Glen Crescent and Falkirk Road.

He said: “It was refreshing on the site visit to have the commitment of the applicant’s agent to take the issues on board. Road safety and parking are the principal concerns of residents and I’m not comforted by the information in the updated report.

“There are issues of traffic congestion during the school run and at peak times.”

Councillor Steven Carleschi agreed, stating: “The community have nothing against development in that area, they just want us, as a planning committee, to get it right on their behalf.”

Planning officers said they had no road safety concerns and the plans met the standard in terms of parking, but residents made their feelings clear about the plans during a site visit earlier in the year.

Committee convener Baillie Billy Buchanan said: “It’s one of the biggest turnouts at a site visit we have ever had and people put forward their genuine concerns over road safety and parking issues.”

Members also heard the development would feature two and three bedroom houses, which was preferable to previous planning applications which included large numbers of flats.

Baillie Joan Paterson felt the application should be granted, pointing out that officers had no such concerns about traffic or parking.

She added: “I personally think the applicant has moved on quite a few of the issues and we really should let this go ahead.”

The committee was told it was not usually necessary to carry out a traffic impact assessment on developments which had under 50 units.

No exact timeframe could be given on how long Councillor Chalmers’ requested traffic assessments would take.