local community, local life ............... 26Many new housing developments have sprung upin local areas recently and not all of them havebeen met with positivity by locals who cite a lack ofequivalent investment in infrastructure and alreadyovercrowded schools. Others more sanguine, realisethat newcomers can boost businesses, enhancecommunity and help the economy too. However,recent attempts to redesignate greenbelt areas inthe Local Development Plan by local councils haveunited residents in Kilmacolm and Lochwinnoch incondemning these moves.In March 2019 Renfrewshire Council put its LocalDevelopment Plan out for public consultation andwithin it the Burnfoot Road area in Lochwinnochwas included for proposed housing development.There are many excellent reasons not to buildhere according to Lochwinnoch’s Burnfoot ActionGroup – or BAG for short. The site is greenbelt andfalls within the boundary of Renfrewshire’s ‘greenlung’ - Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. It forms acrucial part of the Wildlife Corridor between theBarr Loch Nature Reserve and the open moorlandsof the Renfrewshire Heights area of the RegionalPark and is home to many native species of plantsand animals, along with the rare Leiper’s bat.Furthermore, the area is very susceptible to floodingand developing on this fragile ecosystem threatensto sharply increase this risk. BAG also challengedthe proposed ‘need for housing’ and claimed theHousing Need and Demand Assessment entered inthe Local Development Plan was now of date. 900Lochwinnoch residents objected to the proposal inthe summer of 2019, but their voices went unheard.This may be because the story really began manyyears before.In 2015 Stewart Milne entered into an agreementto purchase Burnfoot Road Site in the event ofplanning permission being granted, with a view tobuilding over 100 houses. They applied pressureto Renfrewshire Council to change the site’sgreenbelt status. Their proposals included makingcontributions towards sewage works, buildingaffordable housing elsewhere and contributingto school improvements if redesignation andplanning permission resulted. Consequently, theCouncil proposed to redesignate the site to allowdevelopment.In Kilmacolm a similar story is unfolding. In January2021 Inverclyde Council accepted a proposal fromtheir planning officers, to redraw the greenbeltboundary, resulting in the area known as KilmacolmMeadow (or West of Quarry Drive) being removedfrom the Greenbelt. Despite almost 500 residentssubmitting formal objections to this proposal onThe Greenbelt Grab by Rona Simpson4th May 2021, Inverclyde Councillors voted in favour 8-4 to remove KilmacolmMeadow from Greenbelt status and approved Planning Permission in Principle forMacTaggart and Mickel to build 78 houses.One of the main objections to development relates to sustaining biodiversity;Kilmacolm meadow has not been grazed for over 20 years and is home to morethan 157 species of wildflower and grasses. Some of them are rare such as thegreater butterfly-orchid and the whorled caraway. The root system of wildflowermeadows creates very stable soil that can withstand heavy rainfall, meaning theyare vital in preventing flooding. The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadowssince the 1930s contributing to increased erosion, flooding and the current climateemergency. However, it is not just plants but people we need to defend. This placegives the west of the village – where garden space is in short supply - access toa large, safe green area that is well used by children and dog walkers. And lastly,there is the subject of housing need. According to Bill Crookson of Save KilmacolmMeadow Group and Colin Patterson of the Burnfield Action Group in Lochwinnoch,there is no shortage of land in the Renfrewshire Housing Sub Market Area (RHSMA).This has been confirmed by Clydeplan Strategic Development Plan (SDP), whichremains unchanged since 2017. It is also confirmed by a Scottish GovernmentReporter in the Carsemeadow dismissal on 25th May 2021.Kilmacolm Community Council initially objected to the planning proposal atKilmacolm Meadow, but then withdrew their objection. Chairperson MorvenArmour explains, “To be honest we were disappointed by the decision of InverclydeCouncil to change the status of the land. The previous chair was informed of theredesignation two days before the pre application meeting so we felt that thegrounds of our objection, based on that decision and the figures (in support ofhousing need), had been invalidated leaving us no option but to withdraw theobjection.”What the Lochwinnoch and Kilmacolm situations show is that community voicesare being ignored, shutdown or dismissed.These redesignations go against, not only local policy, but national climate changepolicy. With climate change and loss of species increasing at a pace, there has neverbeen a time more important than now to support biodiversity, stand up for localdemocracy and preserve our greenbelt. These redesignations must be resisted atall costs.For more information on how to resist or what to say in your objection email joinSave Kilmacolm Meadow or Kilmacolm Environmental Action or Burnfoot ActionGroup on facebook.To object to the Inverclyde Council’s Local Development Plan please email ldp@inverclyde.gov.uk before 9th July.
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