Plans for Cumbernauld shopping and leisure complex are re-submittted

The council previously awarded planning permission but the owners of the Antonine Centre, Bridges Antonine LLP, launched a legal challenge claiming proper procedures had not been followed and won their case in the Court of Session in May, resulting in the planning permission being revoked and the court ordering the application be reconsidered.

Tom Tyler of Bridges, said: “Clearly it is disappointing that a planning application, which has such obviously detrimental implications for Cumbernauld Town Centre, has been lodged once again.

“With the previous application, North Lanarkshire Council failed to carry out a retail impact study which we are certain would have proved beyond all doubt that it would be unreasonable to allow an expansion which would have had such a significantly detrimental impact on the centre.

“In his findings at the Court of Session, Lord Burns agreed, saying the reasons given by the council for granting permission for the expansion ‘were perverse and inadequate’. 

“Given that we expect the council to respect Lord Burns’ previous verdict and not appeal, we would hope that they act decisively and throw out this latest application. The last appeal process left council taxpayers with a significant legal bill. We would hope council officers do not make the same mistakes again.

“The Westway expansion proposal flies in the face of North Lanarkshire’s commendable Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan which puts town centres at the heart of any regeneration blueprints. The Westway plan would seriously damage any such attempts to breathe new life into the heart of Cumbernauld Town Centre.

“We have previously welcomed the council’s commitment to a town-centres first approach to its regeneration efforts and hope that this commitment is something which is observed by councillors and officers with regard to this specific application and all future plans for the area.”

However, a statement accompanying the resubmitted planning application reads: “The current retail park is a missed opportunity.

“Recent market research shows that there is a new opportunity, one that will give the existing park a new direction. The introduction of a leisure-led development will breathe new life into Westway as well as create a daytime and night time economy with significant employment benefits.

“It will supplement existing services found elsewhere within Cumbernauld and further afield.”

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