A bid to build a 58-bed care home next to Greenbank Church in Clarkston has been rejected but an extension to the church can go ahead.
East Renfrewshire’s planning committee turned down an application from Morrison Community Care due to concerns over parking and overprovision of care homes. However, councillors agreed new church halls and community facilities could be created.
Planners had recommended both applications should be approved, with one official reporting the church had advised “the income from the land sale [to Morrison Community Care] will complete the funding required for the extension to the church”.
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But Clarkston Community Council and East Renfrewshire’s health and social care partnership [HSCP] objected to the care home application, with fears over the lack of car parking, pedestrian safety and the impact on health services.
In total, there were 112 representations submitted to the council, with 63 objections and 49 letters of support.
The developers wanted to knock down the existing church halls and caretaker’s house, on Eaglesham Road, to build the home, which would have included a terrace and garden for residents. On-site parking for 16 cars was planned.
Cllr Annette Ireland said: “I do know how important the role of the church is in the local community. I know there are really difficult decisions that churches are having to make just now.”
But she had concerns about the parking situation. “We passed by there today and it was incredibly busy, there was parking on both sides of the road,” she added. “There are issues there all the time, it’s a difficult place to get parked but there are near accidents a lot.”
Cllr Betty Cunningham said: “There’s a school and a nursery further up the road, the kids are coming down in groups, they walk in front of your car. There’s a couple of zebra crossings, that's it. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
A council official said the applicants had asked engineering firm AECOM to look at the proposed parking and had reported it was “on a par with what they’ve done in our area” at other care homes.
He said the area had good active and sustainable travel links which “lends to the argument that the number of spaces can be reduced”.
A report by planning officials concluded: “The proposal is unlikely to generate significant private vehicle use and therefore should not result in any significant impact on road safety in the area.”
However, Cllr Jim McLean, who chaired the planning committee, said: “This is a 58-bed care home, we’ve got 16 parking spaces, there is going to be more than 100 staff employed in this. You mention the public transport, the nearest one, to Eaglesham, the bus service is shocking, absolutely terrible."
A representative from the HSCP said: “We have high levels of vacant beds at our care homes and we have had that for a number of years. That’s really our main concern.”
He added a new home would add to the “demand pressure and costs” on services in the local area. “We want to recognise that for whatever benefits there are implications and costs as a result of care home development,” he said.
Councillors were in favour of allowing an extension to the existing church building. That plan received 15 objections and five letters of support.
Cllr Ireland noted the community council supported the extension bid. “I think it's a really good design,” she added. “I wholeheartedly support it. It’s the heart of the community, this church, it’s used for so much and I really welcome these plans.”
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