ALTHOUGH not a direct quote from her letter, the headline above Claire Nevin’s press-release-style piece (Letters, September 14) combats her own and Judy Murray’s steadily weakening arguments about Park of Keir. Had the developers chosen a site that was actually suitable for such a development, it maybe would have been built by now.
It is to Scotland’s credit that we have a robust planning system that doesn’t allow irresponsible, profit-focused developers to ride roughshod over greenbelt and historic land. It is to Judy Murray and the developers’ discredit that they are currently wasting tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayer money on a public inquiry.
I would be interested to meet all the parents and young adults she claims are supportive of the plans. Where were they when letters of support were sought for the development in the original planning process, when the developers were roundly rejected by a 95%-5% margin and the opinion was reflected by Stirling Council’s rejection of the plans? People in the area are not against tennis or golf; they are against the ridiculous siting of the centre and they are against executive housing being built to fund the same. As demonstrated recently by the ‘No Housing on Park of Keir’ group, tennis courts and golf club memberships are widely available in the area. Dunblane Soccer Club pleaded for the 3G pitches that would give it a ‘home’; now that one has been built at Dunblane High School, by the council, where they already train, why aren’t they happy?
There is no objection among the people of Dunblane to the continued success of Scotland’s sportsmen and women. To suggest that our sporting future is threatened by the impending rejection of these plans for the umpteenth time is, frankly, as simplistic as Claire Nevin’s suggestion that people would cycle to Park of Keir. They don’t even cycle to the schools, church halls or community centres, which are much closer. The Keir Roundabout will be busier than even - guaranteed.
Judy Murray said back in December that she had had enough and would not be fighting the planning decision. The rapidly crumbling case being put forward at the public inquiry is proof that she really should have stuck to her word. Only a Trump Menie Estate-style capitulation to celebrity would see these plans go through after so many rejections.
Fraser Boyd,
32 Buchan Drive,
Dunblane.
AS a former resident of douce Bridge of Allan, and a keen advocate of sport for social development, I am more than a little perplexed by the Judy Murray proposals for Park of Keir. The laudable tennis centre appears to be a mere unbuttoned enticement for the substantive luxury housing development.
If a genuine legacy tennis centre was at the heart of the idea, then surely the Murray clan could become naming sponsors for the development of the Scottish “Murray” Tennis Centre, just two miles down the road at Stirling University.
Already there are six indoor courts and two outdoor facilities at the Scottish Tennis Centre. An additional “Murray”complex with all the bells and whistles would certainly enhance the centre.
Stirling University also has a neat “training” golf course while within the Dunblane catchment area there are a number of splendid golf courses from the renowned Gleneagles to the very adjacent Dunblane and Bridge of Allan Golf Clubs.
Clearly, sport development is not the beating heart of the Murray proposal.
Thom Cross,
18 Needle Green,
Carluke.
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