ARGYLL and Bute Council is considering whether to take legal action over a Scottish Government decision to permit the building of two houses for veterans in Cardross.
The authority’s planning, protective services and licensing committee considered the issue on Wednesday.
Lorna McCallum, a reporter from the government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals, decided last month to grant planning permission for the properties at Bloomhill, to the east of Shira Lodge, on the main road through the village.
The planning committee decided in March to refuse permission for the development, but the applicants, Houses for Heroes and the Chrystal Trust, appealed to the Scottish Government.
The council is now believed to be considering two options to challenge Mrs McCallum’s decision.
One is a statutory appeal, asking for the government to look again at the case, and the other is a judicial review, which would involve an application to the Court of Session.
A report prepared by planning officials for Wednesday’s meeting stated: “Because of the issues raised about the justification (or lack of it) for the proposal, the fact that the Reporter found it to be contrary to local plan policies on developments in the green belt, and the failure to limit the permission to disabled ex-servicemen, the council has taken independent legal advice from Brodies regarding prospects for a statutory appeal under Section 239 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.
“This advice is awaited and will be reported to members at the meeting of the PPS&L committee.”
But a council spokesperson told The Advertiser before Wednesday’s meeting that legal advice is considered ‘exempt information’ under council rules, and that the advice would not be discussed in public.
In her report on the case, Mrs McCallum said the development “would not have a detrimental effect on the setting of the village”.
But her report also stated the proposed development would be “contrary to the local plan policies on developments in the green belt”.
That led local councillor David Kinniburgh, who also chairs the planning committee, to say he was “mystified” at the decision to allow the appeal.
After Mrs McCallum’s report was published last month, village resident and community councillor Bob Murray described it as “appalling”. Mr Murray said the site is in the green belt and in a conservation area, while the boundary wall at Shira Lodge – which would require to be partly demolished to allow access to the site – is a listed structure.
However, not all the area’s elected representatives are opposed: Maurice Corry, Tory MSP for the West of Scotland and Argyll and Bute Council’s armed forces champion, said he was pleased at the successful appeal
A spokesman for the applicants said: “The matter of a potential judicial review is a decision for the local authority. However, if Argyll and Bute Council decides to pursue such a course, it would seem at odds with the spirit of the Armed Forces Covenant to which it is a signatory.
“Further, it will involve unnecessary use of substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money in times of budgetary restraint, and risks denying two disabled veterans and their families a place to live in Argyll and Bute at a time when the council area urgently needs inward migration.”
The application attracted 352 expressions of support and 193 objections.
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