A bid by two Forfar councillors to temporarily block construction of 100 homes in Forfar over an access route dispute was thrown out by the Development Standards Committee.
The proposal at the 5.3 hectare site of the former Princess Alexandra House, south of Forfar town centre, will see a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom properties in a combination of terrace, semi-detached and detached units in a mix of single and two-storey heights.
Planning permission for 120 homes had previously been granted for the site, with the retention of mature hedging along the boundary.
However, residents of nearby properties including Northampton Place and Balmashanner Rise, although supportive of the development in principal, expressed significant concerns that the proposed access route for ten of the new properties via Northampton Road was wholly unsuitable.
Speaking on behalf of the residents, Richard Waken said: “Northampton Road is not always congested, but it can be, and on-street parking has increased significantly over the years.”
Commenting on the projected traffic increase of 17.5% generated by the ten new properties, Mr Waken said: “It is naïve and wrong to assume same car ownership levels apply to existing households and new ones.
“One example of this rise is a recent change of home ownership at Balmashanner Rise, which resulted in a one car household being replaced by a household of four cars and a van.”
Forfar and District Independent Councillor Ian McLaren sought to have the access route for the ten properties changed, and argued that the road, and junction with the Dundee Road was unsuitable for the extra levels of traffic the new properties would generate, especially during the winter months.
However, it became apparent that the only way to have the access route changed at that point was to block the application in its entirety, leading Mr McLaren to lodge a motion to reject the application.
The motion was backed by fellow Forfar independent councillor Colin Brown, who also expressed concern about the suitability of the junction with Dundee Road, as well as congestion issues generated by the new properties.
The motion was defeated by eight votes to four, and permission for the 100 new homes was granted.
