Green light for flats plan on Falkirk site that's been empty for 20 years
Plans to build 14 new flats as well as a new cafe or restaurant on vacant land near Falkirk town centre have been given the green light by Falkirk Council’s planning committee.
The site on Grahams Road has been empty for around 20 years and there have been no buildings on it since the 1970s.
A previous application for a Tony Macaroni restaurant fell through when the applicant and the council could not reach an agreement on the design for the building.
At a previous meeting, councillors had delayed making a decision on the new proposals until they had visited the site, particularly to see the impact any development would have on traffic on the busy Grahams Road.
Councillor Robert Spears told last Thursday’s meeting that he was unhappy that councillors had not seen past the fencing around the site, but he was told that the ground is uneven and there are several discarded needles lying about, so it was not considered safe to visit.
Members agreed that the proposals, which planning officers say are “modern in design” will fit in well with the varied buildings found in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The exit from the site will be marked left turn only and councillors were told that the council’s roads department was satisfied that this would be enough for the level of extra traffic created by the development.
Falkirk Council’s museum services did not object to the plans, subject to conditions that would see a programme of archaeological works on the site before any work starts.
The development could also hold clues relating to a bleak part of Falkirk’s history, and the investigations will aim to discover any trace of 17th century plague pits, known as the pest pits.
While the planning permission allows a cafe or restaurant to open in the proposed retail unit, the report says there is no business currently signed up, which could mean that further planning permission would be required for things such as extraction systems.