Plans to develop the site of the former Killearn Hospital will now be carried out in two separate phases to hasten transformation of the long-term derelict land.
In 2020, developers Cala Homes were given planning permission to build 89 new houses at the derelict rural location, with an area of the site earmarked for development as commercial space.
Planning conditions required remediation work be carried out on the entire site before the start of construction.
Last week, however, Stirling Council’s planning panel approved Cala’s application to vary the conditions meaning the residential element can be completed in a first phase with remediation works on the non-residential site undertaken at a later date.
A mix of house types consisting of bungalows, terraced, semi-detached and detached properties, ranging from two-bedroom to five-bedroom, will be built.
At the hearing, Cala Homes’ agent Andrew Woodrow, said they had no control over the other section of site but if the housing part was developed it should make the remaining part more attractive for development.
However, he warned: “This development will be put in serious doubt unless the panel approves the amended conditions.”
Killearn Community Council chair Jim Ptolomey said the community council understood the reason for the amendment despite also having wanted the entire area to be decontaminated.
He added: “We are faced with the prospect of phased work or the entire site being left contaminated.
“We are also aware there’s no guarantee of the second phase of development coming to fruition but on the basis that the majority of the site would be developed and the risk from the site decreased we would support the application.”
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Objector David Young, however, said Cala had originally undertaken “full remediation” and that the application should be considered as a substantial change from the original and contrary to the Local Development Plan.
However Cala said, while negotiations which took place in 2018 had great aspirations for remediation of the entire site, there had been no progress despite “every effort” being made and they were faced with remediating only what was within their control They also said the part of the site they were acquiring was the most contaminated, and with the most buildings to be demolished.
Councillor Jim Thomson said the LDP had always envisaged a commercial site supplemented by the housing.
He added: “I haven’t made my mind up wether the landowner is the problem or Cala is the problem and that’s something we will never understand. I just want to ensure whatever we do we are giving the best opportunity for the whole site to go ahead.
“I’m not going to oppose this but I sincerely hope Cala and the landowner can get together and agree remediation of the whole site at once purely because of economy of scale.”
Independent councillor Rob Davies said late councillor Graham Lambie would have been “very disappointed” therefore asked for his dissent to be recorded after failing to find a seconder for refusal.
Panel chair Alasdair Macpherson moved the recommendation to approve the amendment “with a heavy heart” but following the meeting said:”We understand the challenges faced by the developer to undertake a full site demolition. The former Killearn Hospital has lain derelict for many years, acting as both an eyesore and a potential health risk to residents.
“Cala Homes plans will transform the site for the benefit of many people, and the alteration to the original planning conditions will help hasten delivery of a new residential community.”
The brownfield site, one of the largest in the Stirling area, was once used as a filming location for STV crime drama Taggart.
The hospital, built during World War II to house bombing casualties and injured servicemen away from the bomb-targeted settlements of Glasgow and Clydebank, later catered for orthopaedic and neurosurgical treatments but was closed and abandoned in the 1970s.
Several schemes from various developers were outlined for the site in the past, although none appear to have been deemed financially viable due to the prohibitive costs of clearing asbestos and contamination.
In 2017, however, potential for future housing on the site was left on the Local Development Plan by the Scottish Government’s planning reporter who said ideally it should be designated for around 70 residential units but that “a balance must be struck” given the costs of remediation.
