Second hearing for 150 homes on Carronshore farmland

Plans for 150 new homes on farmland in Falkirk will be examined by councillors for the second time at a special hearing next week.

More than 90 objections were received by Falkirk Council in response to Taylor Wimpey’s plans for housing at Roughlands Farm, Mill Road, Carronshore.

Members of the public raised concerns about dozens of issues, including capacity with schools and nursery, health services, increased traffic and road safety, pollution and a loss of greenbelt land.

An online pre-determination hearing – where the developers and objectors got the chance to have a say – was first held in April last year.

However, the process was then delayed as Falkirk Council waited to see the result of a legal challenge over the the Scottish Government’s refusal to allow 250 new homes to be built on greenbelt land in West Lothian.

While the two applications are entirely separate, the appeal was a test of planning policies recently introduced by the Scottish Government.

Now, the plans to build 150 new homes on a small pocket of farmland are moving forward once again and a new hearing will look again at the facts.

The application seeks planning permission in principle to develop the five-hectare site, bound by farmland and housing, with Webster Avenue, Roughlands Drive and New Carron Road surrounding the fields.

The land is mainly agricultural land, although there are three cottages within the site, adjacent to Webster Avenue.

A pre-determination hearing is required when an application is made for a major development that is significantly contrary to the council’s development plan.

The hearing allows councillors to get more detail about the plans and request more information where necessary.

A final decision will be made by the planning committee at a future meeting.

The initial report to members contains information from various council departments, including roads, education, transport planning and flooding.

It points out that the site would be part of Larbert High School’s catchment area and the school is already near capacity.

The roads department has also queried whether the site is big enough to include the number of parking spaces that would be needed for 150 homes.

There are also questions about access for vehicles and noise that might affect some of the proposed homes.

The report also highlights that the ground is likely to contain mine-shafts and railway sidings among other things and a contaminated land assessment is recommended.

Following an initial public consultation, 93 objections were received to the plans.

The objections included concerns about the residents of the houses currently on the land, which would be demolished as part of the development.

The pre-determination meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 24, at 6 pm in Grangemouth Community Education Unit, 69-71 Abbots Road, Grangemouth.

It will also be livestreamed on Falkirk Council’s YouTube channel.