Councillors approve planning application for 35 new flats

An application for the nine one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom and three three-bedroom private homes at 23 Burgh Hall Street was agreed at committee this week.

The site is currently occupied by an old warehouse building for the former Woolworths store on Dumbarton Road. As the building is not residential, demolition is permitted without concent.

Cruden Homes (West) Ltd’s development will offer a travel pack to all future residents of the flats, including maps detailing public transport stops, timetables and estimated journey times, walking / cycle routes to key destinations and health benefits of sustainable transport modes.

During the meeting concerns were raised about the number of flats proposed per hectare.

Councillor Jane Morgan said: “I think this application looks sensible in terms of making use of that site. I don’t personally have any issues with the car free proposal.

“I do have a question about the number of units per hectare. We are told that the normal range is up to 100 but more is acceptable in areas of high accessibility.

“It is stated as 218. What I find difficult is knowing how far we can we go. What do officers think is acceptable in terms of high density and do we have some guidelines on that?”

A council officer said that wasn’t an easy question to answer as the density depends on what is surrounding that particular area.

A report submitted to committee also highlighted that the land at Burgh Hall Street is 0.16 hectares.

“They are ignoring the more adjacent buildings and I think there is a problem in term of the number of houses per hectare.”

Members also asked questions about the about the allotment area on the site and how well-lit it would be.

A motion to approve the plans subject to conditions was proposed as was an amendment to continue the application to find out more about the adequacy of lighting to allotment area.

Following a role call vote the motion was granted with nine votes to five.