Burns, bridges and trees make up the scenic woodland walk that is Buckie Braes in Perth.
It’s a well-trodden path that maintains the charm of a hidden gem, never busy when you stroll up or down with the dog racing out in front.
It also has a special place in my heart as it’s the spot where I proposed to my wife early last year – although in the of interests of full transparency, she was my girlfriend at the time.
In recent years, the natural beauty of the walk has been slightly spoiled by protective fences and pipework – both elements needed to combat the effects of flooding from the aforementioned burn.
Flooding that has caused devastation in much of the Craigie area during that time.
Homes on Queen Street and Low Road destroyed, the carpark and outdoor seating of the Cherrybank pub washed away more than once, Darnhall Tennis Club with similar problems.
Even Glasgow Road has seen itself submerged on occasion, in between bouts of never-ending roadworks.
Planning application sparks flood risk fears
Much of the Buckie Braes walk takes you along the outskirts of Craigie Hill Golf Course, and that folks, is what we’re really here to talk about today.
The golf club has applied for planning permission to reduce their 18-hole course to nine, and build 175 houses in the leftover space.
They say they need to make drastic changes to secure their future, a plight I can sympathise with as nobody wants to lose great community facilities.
But the 175 new homes are a problem.
There have been 324 comments on the application, 107 of those objecting to the proposal.
Many of those objections are from people living in Craigie, people who fear even more flooding.
Homeowners living in uncertainty
Again, going with the whole transparency thing, I live in Craigie, I’m a homeowner – and it’s a fear I share.
Luckily, for now, my street is not currently within the unofficial flood zone.
But it’s close.
When the burn bursts I needn’t walk two minutes to see the affects
The people piling up sandbags, praying that this year the water stays out, the looks of hopelessness when it doesn’t.
I’ve spoken to many of these residents, visited their homes, and it’s an awful situation they face.
It’s not just the money – although that in itself is enough – but the uncertainty.
A lot of these people have now lived this devastation more than once.
It can only inspire worry for the future.
Why buy anything new – take any pride in redecorating – when it might all disappear again in the next deluge?
Selfishly, I worry that another 175 homes might see my street join their ranks.
I cannot imagine the utter contempt people living in Queen Street, or Low Road, or other avenues and crescents, feel when they see an application for yet more housebuilding.
For yet more burden on the burn, on the already failing drainage system.
A moratorium on housebuilding
It is of widespread local concern that the hundreds of houses built near Broxden and Cherrybank in recent years have contributed massively to the flooding in Craigie.
There is little trust that current flood protection measures or risk assessment models are enough to protect the people living here.
Residents being told every 12 or 24 months that the problem is actually a one in 200 year weather event is an excuse wearing thin.
People are rightly sceptical. The math just ain’t mathing.
There needs to be a proper investigation into why Craigie is turning into an biannual flood plain, and until then there should be a moratorium on large-scale housebuilding in the area.
Council prioritise new homes over residents
There is another article for another day about my thoughts on Perth and Kinross Council prioritising new homes over providing amenities for the people already living here.
And while the fact affordable housing is without doubt a necessity, one also has to remember that every new estate is more council tax in the local authority’s coffers.
Call me cynical etc etc.
But this isn’t new homes over amenities.
This is new homes over the homes that are already here, over the current residents living in fear.
That should be an easy decision for the planning department, to jot down ‘recommended for refusal’.
A choice made even easier given the golf course is not designated land for housing.
Otherwise, Buckie Braes is not the only thing at risk of being washed away.
It’s the people that walk there too.
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