Specific conditions relating to the development of 99 new homes in Duntocher have been rejected by councillors whose decision to refuse planning permission was overturned.
West Dunbartonshire Council previously branded the decision by Scotland’s Supreme Civil Court to approve the private homes at the Duntiglennan Fields as “an attack on local democracy” following years of opposition from the community and the council.
The local authority received a total of 149 objections from local residents who also feel the application from Barratt Homes should never have been granted.
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Last year the supreme civil court decided that the houses should be built as a result of Scotland’s housing shortfall, with the former council leader agreeing to seek legal advice on the situation.
At the time, Labour councillor Lawrence O’Neil said he was “enraged” about the decision.
He said: “This council collectively has made a number of decisions over a number of years regarding Duntiglennan Field.
“I am enraged about the decision which was made. We have been contacted by a great number of constituents who share these feelings.
“I see this as an attack on our local democracy. This was never decided on party political lines - it was about what was right for our community.”
An update on the proposed development, which will provide 95 detached houses and four semi-detached houses, all of which will be two storeys in height, was brought before the planning committee last week.
It is proposed that the site, which is made up of two fields, connected by a narrow corridor, will see a selection of four-bedroom detached houses and three-bedroom semi-detached houses.
During the meeting, members were asked to grant permission, subject to 25 planning conditions but conditions one, three, five and seven were refused unanimously.
Condition one stated that a detailed phasing plan for the development on site should be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority before work can start.
Condition three stated that “landscaping” would be implemented within a certain time frame which would be agreed with planning bosses prior to work beginning on the site.
Condition five asked that any trees, shrubs or areas of grass which die, are removed, damaged or become diseased within five years of completion of the new homes be replaced within the following year with others of a similar size and species.
While condition seven said that before any work starts, full details of the proposed playground equipment and maintenance arrangements together with the timescale for installation should be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning department.
Despite this move from West Dunbartonshire Council, the application has still been granted “in principle” by the Supreme Court.
Following the meeting, committee member councillor Ian Dixon, said: "The committee's unanimous decision to refuse permission was the right one, made for the right reasons.
“While some objectors presented concerns that we couldn't legally consider as they had already been ruled on by higher authorities, the Provost's contribution covered several other issues that couldn't be dealt with by way of conditions during the planning meeting and the refusal was the most reasonable option available to us.”
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