Press Statement

MILTON OF CAMPSIE GREENBELT PRESERVATION PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION REPRESENTATIONS ON EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL PROPOSED LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Commenting on the consultation process, Alan Harris, Secretary of Milton of Campsie Greenbelt Preservation said: “The Council made it extremely difficult for people to make representations by their initial insistence that all comments "must be submitted by email on their official form or via (their) online survey monkey" and a refusal to accept letters until a week before the deadline. Another giant obstacle for people was the Council’s insistence that "you cannot make a comment on more than one policy within one response form" and confusion over the correct page and policy numbers to be entered on the forms. Nonetheless we believe that there has been more than double the number of representations than the 600 that were submitted at the Main Issues Report Stage last July. At that time there were 160 objections to house building on the greenbelt at Redmoss Farm and only 2 submissions in favour. This represented 27% of the total number of objections. Redmoss Farm in Milton of Campsie was the only Preferred Option site that attracted a significant amount of opposition. With 160 responses this was by far the largest number of comments on a particular site. Reasons for objecting to this site were summarised as: • Loss of Greenbelt land, • Impact upon wildlife, • Distance of site from the village centre and public transport links, • Impact upon traffic and local infrastructure, • Lack of local facilities, and • Uneven distribution of affordable housing across the Council area. (MIR Page14). In fact there were more objections to house building on Redmoss Farm than the rest of the sites that attracted at least 20 objections put together. The number of sites under consideration now is less than half the number at the MIR stage so it is reasonable to expect that the proportion of objections to house building on Redmoss Farm will be significantly higher. We have already submitted a petition with 333 signatures and firmly expect that there have been several hundred objections. The fact that the Council have refused to confirm the exact number speaks for itself. The proposal to build houses on the greenbelt at Redmoss Farm has been rejected on numerous occasions over the last 30 years most recently in 2011 when the Scottish Government Reporter concluded his Report by saying: the overall proposal lacks a cohesive development form and does not appear as a logical expansion of the Milton of Campsie settlement I do not consider that a local nature reserve, in itself, would create a robust visible settlement edge to mitigate the peripheral sprawl of further housing development in this area. Overall, I consider that the proposed scale and location of green belt release is so significant as to undermine the structure plan metropolitan strategy. These considerations are not outweighed by the need for additional affordable housing sites. Since there has been no change in the local geography since 2011, we do not expect any different result on this occasion.” ENDS For further information contact: Alan Harris - secretary@mocgreenbelt.org Note: http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/pdf/DE%20Planning/DE-P%20EDLP2%20%20Report.pdf 37. Road access to the Area 2 development plot is rather convoluted via Redmoss Road, Laburnum Drive, Elizabeth Avenue and finally Marley Way, a cul-de-sac. Both development plots have been positioned so as to avoid the higher ridgeline crossing the centre of the site broadly from south-west to north-east. But, as a result, the overall proposal lacks a cohesive development form and does not appear as a logical expansion of the Milton of Campsie settlement. The northern plot in particular has the appearance of a backland site located to the rear of existing housing on Elizabeth Avenue with awkward road access and little visual connectivity with the adjoining housing area. 38. The proposal to form a local nature reserve or country park is part of the overall green belt release package proposed by the representees. There is already clear evidence of well used paths and desire lines crossing parts of the site and linking into more formal path networks in and around the settlement to the north, south and east. However, the status, funding, long term management and legal mechanisms for such a nature reserve or country park are not well developed at this stage and do not provide sufficient justification for a significant green belt release. In any event, I do not consider that a local nature reserve, in itself, would create a robust visible settlement edge to mitigate the peripheral sprawl of further housing development in this area. 39. Overall, I consider that the proposed scale and location of green belt release is so significant as to undermine the structure plan metropolitan strategy. These considerations are not outweighed by the need for additional affordable housing sites.