Developers face fight over housing plans

Scottish Enterprise wants to sell off a 30-hectare site in the area surrounded by Dullatur Road, Eastfield Road and Ratho Drive and is seeking planning approval for a 300-house estate to maximize its attractiveness to property developers.

However, the project is encountering resistance from those already living in the Craigmarloch, Carrickstone, Westerwood and Dullatur areas as they feel education and healthcare services in the area are already stretched to the limit, along with the roads network.

This was made clear at a meeting on Tuesday, March 20, which was attended by more than 100 people. Organised by Westerwood Community Council, the meeting saw representatives of planning consultancy Ironside Farrar explain what the new community would look like and take notwe of the concerns expressed.

After the meeting, Westerwood Community Council chairman Gordon Wright said: “The community council has discussed the project and the feeling is that we are against the planning application. It is not the housing we are against, but the lack of facilities - school, medical, transport and sewerage.

“We are planning to raise our objections directly with North Lanarkshire Council.”

Around 10 years ago Westerwood Community Council successfully blocked a plan to sell off land at Westerwood Golf Club. The plan would have seen around 250 houses constructed on the site.

Gordon added: “Our objections were upheld on the basis that the area could not support another 250 houses and I haven’t seen a lot of improvement since then. Cumbernauld/St Andrew’s Primary school has children being taught in portacabins.”

There are other housing proposals in the offing too - to build around 90 houses near the joint school and another 150 on vacant land near Dobbie’s Garden Centre.

“If one of these plans gets the go ahead it could leave the doors open for the others,” warned Gordon.