Move to build 2500 houses at Jackton

Nov 19 2008 by David Wynn, East Kilbride News

A FURTHER 2500 homes are almost certain to be built on greenbelt land between Jackton and East Kilbride – after an independent report supported the proposals.

South Lanarkshire Council unveiled the plans in 2005 as part of the draft South Lanarkshire Local Plan – the document which will shape future development in the area during the next 20 years.

Under the plan, the area between Jackton and East Kilbride, which borders parts of Gardenhall and Mossneuk, will be developed to create what is termed as a Community Growth Area (CGA).

This will incorporate 2500 new homes, a school and services that will essentially make Jackton part of East Kilbride.

No definite timescale has yet been given as the plans have not been officially approved yet.

The CGA for East Kilbride has already been approved by Scottish Ministers under the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan.

With this in mind, the Local Plan’s role was to establish exactly where the new housing should be built.

However, dozens of objections have been submitted by local residents, mainly focusing on the fact the land is greenbelt and should be protected.

And, following a public inquiry into the plan, reporter David Russell conceded many residents would feel “their amenity and quality of life is diminished, or even threatened.”

However, crucially, he highlighted the fact no objectors had identified an alternative location and further stated the “strategic importance” of the CGA justified development in the area.

Reporters’ findings from the inquiry were discussed by councillors at Tuesday’s planning committee meeting.

Now, after relatively minor changes are made to the document, the South Lanarkshire Local Plan will again go out to consultation and should be officially adopted next year.

Land at Thorntonhall was also originally earmarked by SLC to provide housing for the CGA, but Mr Russell recommended against this on the basis that this area “occupies a critical position within a key green belt corridor” and was not originally identified in the structure plan.

He further states the area at Jackton and East Kilbride is sufficient to cater for the 2500 homes required.

When the draft local plan was first published, the proposal to build housing on Colonsay Field sparked a storm of controversy in the town.

A major campaign was launched and SLC eventually agreed to remove the area as a site for potential development.

Mr Russell’s report backs the objectors and says the plans to build housing there were “not consistent with the broad thrust of national, structure plan and local plan policy.”

Full details of the reporters’ findings from the public inquiry can be found at www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk or from the Civic Centre in East Kilbride.

l What do you think of the proposal? E-mail dwynn@s-un.co.uk

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