A SUBURBAN community would be robbed of a public park under plans by a private developer to build a £112 million housing estate, it has been claimed.
Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd has submitted proposals to build 400 homes at Braidbar Quarry in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire.
But the Bellshill-based engineering company says the scheme can only work if the local council agrees to the “integration” of the adjoining Huntly Park into its masterplan.
Campaigner Paul Drury discovered the firm’s plans by submitting a series of freedom of information requests to the local authority.
The Giffnock resident, 58, who intends to stand as an independent candidate in May’s local government elections, said: “This is a monster development, the equivalent of dropping a small town into the heart of a village.
“There is no way local roads could cope with six years’ worth of remediation and building work, never mind the hundreds of new cars that would come with such a huge housing development.
“The local Catholic secondary school is so over-subscribed the council began restricting admissions earlier this year.”
No planning application has yet been submitted, though the FoI request has uncovered a detailed scheme for 320 houses for sale, 80 affordable homes and associated neighbourhood centre, food shops, coffee shop, hairdresser and dentist.
An email from the developer to the council from February said: “The masterplan would include the relocation of the existing football club, together with a diverse residential development comprising affordable housing, new open space and landscaping with the integration of Huntly Park into the masterplan.
“Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd, as one of the landowners within the overall Braidbar Quarry area have over the last 12 months carried out extensive research into how the quarry can be remediated.
“Though this process, ACS have established that in order to remediate the quarry in full, the entirety of the land, including elements of Huntly Park, will require to be considered.”
Huge underground caverns at Braidbar Quarry are the legacy of hundreds of years of quarrying for Giffnock stone. The red material was used to build Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery as well as many public buildings in Australia, to where it was transported as ballast in sailing ships and Museum.
Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd did not respond to a request for comment.
An East Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “All developers are entitled to liaise with our planning officials before potentially bringing forward any future planning applications. This process, where planners will provide information and any relevant guidance, is an approach encouraged by the Scottish Government for all councils.
“The impact that any potential development may have on infrastructure and delivery of council services would be fully considered during any planning process in the event of a planning application being submitted at a later date.”
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