Falkirk Council: Green light for six new homes near Polmont's Aldi

At a meeting of Falkirk Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, Abhainn Developments was given permission to build six two-storey houses on land at the east side of Airlie Drive, Polmont, close to the Aldi store.

The plans for the new houses at Appin Grove originally sparked nearly 50 objections but the man behind the proposals told members of the planning committee that several changes had been made to address people’s worries.

Stephen Myles, who is both developer and architect, told councillors that he felt the site was “very, very suitable to bring forward for high quality housing”.

He told members that the site “delivers quality and recognises aspirations, while being affordable and value for money”.

Although the land is privately owned, the site – originally the garden of Polmontbank House – is used by local residents, in particular by people walking dogs.

It currently has 69 trees on-site, but there is no tree preservation order in place which means they have no legal protection.

Mr Myles told councillors that the vast majority of the trees on the site would be retained and there would be replanting to replace any that were removed.

He added: “After listening to the community council and very much taking on board and willing to be part of that dialogue we did go back and significantly amend our development.”

Changes to the original plan included reducing the number of houses from seven to six and reducing them from three-storey townhouses to more traditional, two-storey family homes.

He also promised that the wider area of the woodland – outwith residents’ gardens – would still be accessible to people walking their dogs and other local residents as public space.

Lower Braes councillor Gordon Forrest was not convinced that the houses would fit in to the area.

He said: “Most of the houses round about are bungalows, built in traditional red or brown brick. These ones are two-storey, they are built in white brick and grey brick. It’s totally out of place.”

He was also concerned that the trees replacing those that would be removed would not be adequate to cover the loss and urged the committee to reject the application.

He said: “This is out of character with the houses round about and it will decimate a much-loved area which is used by a lot of people.

“There is a great opportunity to put in a few houses but at the end of the day there is absolutely no benefit to the local community from this and it’s depriving them of a much needed recreational area.”

Councillor Gary Bouse pointed out that as there is no tree preservation order in place, the owner of the site could “level the site tomorrow and nobody could do anything about it”.

Cllr Forrest was supported by another Lower Braes member, Cllr James Kerr.

However, the other councillors on the committee backed officials’ recommendations that planning permission should be granted.