An early outline of a vision of Carnoustie’s growth over the next 20 years has been revealed.
Joe Noble gave a presentation to the town’s community council of the Muir Group’s hopes for its future on Carlogie Road, to the east of the town.
Mr Noble, spokesperson for ESEP Ltd, which is consulting Muir Group on its preferred option for growth in Carnoustie, discussed the firm’s “very strong presence in Angus.”
He said it has a “good track record” in Forfar, Kirriemuir and Arbroath, with operating profits of £2.9 million last year.
His talk broached key issues in a main issues report (MIR) that identified two main development prospects for the town at Upper Victoria and Carlogie.
He said the firm recognised a need to develop an improved route into town along Carlogie Road, which would cost about £1 million and lies on wholly council-owned land.
“All that’s holding it back is purely cash,” he said.
“Provision of the road, we believe, is a very high priority in the MIR indeed.”
Mr Noble said the Muir Group-owned area of land is merely an outline for what could happen for the town, including scope for leisure and a green belt.
He said: “While the scale of our favoured area of development would be up to 380 acres, filling all that out would take it out of the local masterplan’s term, which is 2024.
“It’ll be a long, long time before all that land would be built out.”
Mr Noble added that the main shopping of Carnoustie residents is done outside town.
“There has been no active discussion with the council yet, but Carlogie Road is closer to the town centre (for a supermarket),” he said.
Development and planning consultant James Lochhead told attendees the Tayplan schedule for housing in south Angus requires about 80 homes to be built in Birkhill, Monifieth and Carnoustie each year.
He said taking a rough estimate of 10 houses per acre, and 35 houses per year on average, means the Muir site could only be considered as a whole, with a full set of facilities.
He said: “Let’s take a long-term view, let’s get a rate of development that can be absorbed by the town.”
Mr Noble told community councillors and attendees that a development plan would go before the Scottish Government in early 2015, with a settled view of possible development unlikely before 2016.