A protest petition has been launched against plans to build nearly 500 homes on a greenfield site at Ladyfield near Kingholm Quay.
Campaigners are seeking support in their fight against the Crichton Trust’s £45 million “care campus” proposal.
And they have won the backing of Dumfries councillor Malcolm Johnstone who claims that the scheme “flies in the face” of the authority’s Local Development Plan.
Members of the Save Ladyfield campaign claim the project would lead to an increased risks of flooding, destroy wildlife habitat and add more traffic to an already congested roads network.
Mr Johnstone, a Nith ward councillor, said: “I’m here to represent the views of the people in the Save Ladyfield campaign.
“They’ve got very valid concerns and I get it.
“I think development along here is playing fast and loose with the Local Development Plan (LDP). It actually flies in the face of it.
“How is this in keeping with the council’s own conditions for development?
“The council’s own LDP states that there’s a history of flooding at the site and a masterplan will need to take into account ‘appropriate road networks’.”
He added: “A survey of woodland needs to show how trees will be protected during construction. I’m not sure how that would work.
“We do need housing but surely it would make more sense to utilise brownfield sites before greenfield ones?”
A meeting organised by the Save Ladyfield group earlier was attended by about 100 people keen to give their feedback on the proposed development.
And it is stepping up its publicity campaign with the launch of the online petition this week.
Group member Elaine Ferguson said: “In just a few days it has almost 300 signatures. That’s a collection of local residents and people from further afield.
“We’ve also launched a Go Fund Me page as we hope to hire independent planning consultants to help us down the line.
“They’re looking at putting multi-story flats on conservation land. This area is 50 per cent conservation land with protected wildlife and the conservation order was put on the land by this council in 1997.”
The Crichton Trust, which manages the site, is planning to build 477 homes as well as a primary school, shops and a health centre.
The project team hope to break ground within the next five years.
Karl Drinkwater, one of the trustee of Dumfries Partnership Action Group said: “The Crichton might say this is a small group of people against this but people everywhere care about this. Local communities should drive local development not developers.”
Louise Stewart, another resident near the Ladyfield site who is part of the group, said: “I share all the concerns that have been raised.
“I think all the views of local residents should be heard fairly.”
The Crichton Trust held a public consultation on their proposals in June and will stage another at the Easterbrook Hall in mid October.
Its chief executive, Gwilym Gibbons, said: “The Crichton Trust has been delighted by the level and depth of engagement in the Ladyfield master planning consultation to date.
“At the next drop-in event on the afternoon of October 14 we are looking forward to sharing how community aspirations and concerns for the site have shaped and influenced the plans. Please drop into Easterbrook Hall between 1pm and 7pm.”
For more information on the campaign go to “Save Ladyfield - a beautiful conservation area in Dumfries” on Facebook. To sign the petition go to this link.
