Protect Glasgow’s Greenbelt

Glasgow’s precious greenbelt is under threat.

A private developer – Caledonian Properties – wants to build at least 500 houses on protected greenbelt land, north of Summerston. A Council feasibility study linked to the proposal concluded that there was already enough brownfield land in the city to provide the homes people need, and that a car-centric development like this would fly in the face of the city declaring a climate emergency. We need to take action now to stop this act of environmental vandalism for private profit.

Caledonian Properties’ initial planning application, submitted in December 2019, resulted in over 100 objections from the local community. As well as the loss of the greenbelt, residents were concerned about traffic, air pollution and damage to a nearby site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

The developer is using every trick in the book to get their way. First, they’ve challenged the Council’s feasibility study and it had to be pulled from a Committee meeting.

Now, they’ve withdrawn the original planning application and resubmitted new plans, meaning those who oppose them must also put in fresh objections. The deadline for objections is Friday 8th January which means any response has to be organised over the holiday period.

We shouldn’t let them get away with this. The community doesn't want this development and allowing it could further undermine the city’s greenbelt, harming nature, and increasing emissions.

We’ve prepared a template objection which you can send directly to the Council’s planning department. Please take action to protect Glasgow’s greenbelt.

You can also make objections directly via the Council's online planning portal or by email to planning.representations@drs.glasgow.gov.uk

Object to Caledonian Properties’ climate-wrecking plans. Entering your details and confirming your support below will generate a formal planning objection to Glasgow City Council. You may adapt the text of the email as you wish

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I am writing to register my objection for the application submitted by Caledonian Property Investments Ltd for Planning Permission in Principle (20/03256/PPP) for the following reasons:

Failure to meet local housing needs and unjustifiable loss of Green Belt
Clydeplan 8 requires that a development should “contribute to sustainable development and...address Green Belt objectives”. Glasgow City Council has also stated in IPG 6 the importance of continuing “to exercise a strong presumption against development that would adversely affect the function and integrity of the remaining Green Belt”.  The developer has provided insufficient evidence to demonstrate that there is a sufficient need for the type of housing that they are proposing to build that would justify the loss of the Green Belt and its ecosystem.

Failure to repurpose brownfield sites 
The proposed development will permanently remove a significant segment of Glasgow’s Green Belt. As outlined in SG2, the Council “considers that further housing development in the Green Belt would be counterproductive to the CDP’s spatial strategy which states a preference for brownfield development”. Since there is an abundance of undeveloped brownfield in Glasgow, and that Glasgow City Council is seeking to promote development of brownfield as opposed to Green Belt, it is clear that the proposed development does not align with the Council’s Sustainable Spatial Strategy.

Inconsistent with sustainable travel objectives 
The proposed major development is for the building of “up to” 500 “family” homes, each with one designated car space plus 0.25 visitor car spaces. SG 11 States that “New developments should maximise the extent to which its travel demands are met first through walking, then cycling, then public transport and finally through the use of private cars”. It is not clear from the application that this development, with an individual car space for every home, despite efforts to connect cycle and pedestrian paths to existing infrastructure, will adequately promote walking, cycling and public transport ahead of private car use. Traffic impacts would also affect neighbouring communities, impacting amenity, and increasing air pollution risks.

Inconsistent with declaring a climate and ecological emergency
In May 2019, Glasgow City Council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency and subsequently agreed an ambition of Glasgow becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Construction of a 500-home development on protected green belt, with one car space per home plus an additional 125 spaces for visitors is incompatible with both Glasgow’s declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency and Glasgow’s draft Climate Emergency Implementation Plan.

Impact on ecology of designated SSSI 
The proposed development lies within close proximity to Possil Marsh SSSI and the EIAR produced by Montagu Evans states (in Chapter 8) that sensitivity of the area (Possil Marsh) to ecological effects is considered to be medium. While the developer has listed a number of mitigation measures for managing the dust and pollution that could cause “low impact with adverse effect” to the SSSI, particularly in the construction phase, the mitigation does not express how it will “enhance rather than have a negative impact upon the a) biodiversity of the associated habitats and species…”, which is a stipulation of SG 7. Mitigation does not equal enhancement.

Yours sincerely,

This message will be sent to planning.representations@drs.glasgow.gov.uk marked with your email address

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