Plans lodged with Falkirk Council for one-bedroom flats in Langlees

The owners, Roubiax Developments Ltd, hope to build on a vacant area of land beside the GKR shop on Seaforth Road, Langlees. They are proposing that eight of the new properties would be one-bedroomed flats, with one two-bedroomed, end terrace property.

Previously, plans were submitted for ten properties but this application was withdrawn and a revised layout has now been submitted, which shows parking and communal garden space.

In a planning statement to Falkirk Council, the company says that there is a growing need for one-bedroom properties, in light of the ‘bedroom tax’.

Falkirk Council’s housing need assessment in 2016 said one-bedroom properties make up 16 per cent of the council’s stock, with 2613 properties compared to 8602 two-bedroomed properties.

According to the planning statement, the council reports that: “It has been more difficult to address the mismatch of the low number of one-bedroom properties by allocating a two-bedroom property to households with a one-bedroom need.”

The developers also suggest that the location is ideal for housing as it is near schools and within walking distance of shops and health services in New Carron Village, while Falkirk town centre is “only a short bus journey away”.