Stacked units turned down
Temporary building bid‘obtrusive’
Developers have been denied permission to site temporary buildings, two storeys high, just metres from Stirling’s Robert Burns Monument.
Clark Contracts wanted to site three of the stacked buildings on Dumbarton Road, one of the city’s busiest tourist routes.
However, Stirling Council planners have rejected the application, which was lodged in connection with work being carried out to build student flats behind the New Look store.
Three temporary buildings, two storeys high, were to have been placed within parking bays on the road and partially onto the public pavement under the rejected application, which also involved engineering works to cut into the grassed slope and extend the pavement, allowing pedestrians to continue to walk round the units.
In their decision, council planners said: “These temporary buildings are to be located along the public road, close to the junction with Corn Exchange at a location regularly used as a route by the public up to Stirling Castle and Stirling’s historic centre.
“The units will be prominently and widely visible from within the Kings Park conservation area. The buildings are to be of functional design and will be obtrusive in terms of scale and location.
“The works to the rear to extend the pavement will eat into what is currently a well maintained sloping grassed area, which is considered to contribute significantly to the character of the conservation area. These works will remove part of this slope and in its place a hard tarmac pavement is to be formed for pedestrians.”
The planners, however, added that, given the buildings were temporary, they were not being refused because the structures were contrary to policies protecting the character of the area, but because works to form the pavement were considered to be “harmful” as there was no clear remediation strategy to reform the slope once the units had been removed.
“This work has a high likelihood of permanently, adversely altering the appearance of this part of the Conservation Area without a clear repair method statement, including necessary drawings.
“In terms of road safety it is clear from the consultation response received from the council’s roads service that the siting of these units will adversely impact upon the visibility sightlines for drivers at the Corn Exchange Road/Albert Place junctions and for this reason will present a road safety hazard.”
McLaren (Stirling) Ltd have planning permission for a 153-bedroom students’ residence at 14-16 Dumbarton Road, behind New Look, which had been earmarked for a six-storey, 120-bed hotel.
Work to create the accommodation at the unused former public toilet site, known as Carter’s Yard, is currently underway.
The work has a high likelihood of permanently, adversely altering the appearance of this part of the Conservation Area