Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been asked to investigate delays to Stirling’s Forthside project.
In January 2023, Stirling Council announced it had been awarded £19million from the UK Levelling Up Fund, to put towards development of Ministry of Defence land at Forthside.
However, uncertainties still remain over the potential contamination of the land, which has been used as a military installation since 1899.
In February this year, local Stirling councillors also expressed their concerns over delays, as well as the potential risk of decontamination costs falling on the council if the site is transferred in an unsuitable condition.
Plans for the comprehensive development of Forthside play a prominent role within the wider £90.2m Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, agreed between the Scottish and UK Governments in May 2018.
This week, local MP Alyn Smith urged the Prime Minister to step in during PM’s Question Time in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Mr Smith requested an urgent meeting with officials from the UK Government and Stirling Council, to progress the development and push forward plans, with the PM replying: “We have invested in Stirling previously to unlock investment and drive growth.
“I will ensure the Honourable Gentleman gets the meeting he needs with the relevant Minister to make progress.”
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The SNP MP said later: “I was happy to raise this issue with the Prime Minister – I’ll work with anyone to secure a better future for Stirling.
“Development at Forthside is crucial to the success of both our city, and our surrounding communities.
“These are tough economic times amidst the cost of living crisis. There’s tens of millions of pounds of crucial investment sitting on the table for Stirling, waiting for officials to agree a path forward.
“I understand the issue of land decontamination has been a tricky one for the Ministry of Defence to navigate, but we must see progress on this.
“This is a 40-acre site, with the potential to enable 350 housing units and 100,000 square feet of business space.
“Residents, visitors and businesses are crying out for sensible, thoughtful development – and Stirling has a golden opportunity to ensure this project is fit for the future.
“Close to transport links, retail, leisure and the River Forth, overall development on the site can be green, sustainable and meet the growing economic and housing needs of our thriving city and region.
“We’ve got the plans, we’ve got the funding, and we’ve got the ambition. Let’s bring it all together, and get to work.”
In February, Stirling Council Conservative group lead Neil Benny warned fellow councillors that lack of progress on the city centre site risked devaluing the millions of pounds of investment, saying the project had the potential to be “transformative” for Stirling, Forth Valley and even Scotland – but that it was “losing value every
day”.
It has been suggested it could be turned into a technology park with the creation of 1000 jobs.
SNP councillor Gerry McLaughlan also raised concerns about the delay – but stressed the importance of ensuring the council was not left with the headache of dealing with contamination, which has been the topic of much debate for several years.
He also said the City Region Deal agreement made it “quite clear” the council expected to take possession of a “clean site” from the MoD.
Chief operating officer for infrastructure and environment, Brian Roberts, however, had said the process with the MoD on decontamination arrangements was ongoing but was expected to run into the financial year 2023/24.
He added that further work was underway and additional survey work being done, with the council also consulting with external advisers. He suggested the council may if anything be left to deal with “normal” types of contamination seen on brownfield sites, with the MoD responsible for clearing anything more significant.
