An exclusive £25million planning development linked to a Scots fraudster has been rejected by the Scottish Government.
An application to build 44 homes around Liberty Durant’s mansion on greenbelt land sparked complaints from furious neighbours. Durant, 74, was given a 10-year directorship ban and a suspended prison sentence for carrying out a £700,000 fraud while already banned from being a company director.
His family has owned the land in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, for years.
Councillors had rejected the plans after officers recommended it should be refused over the impact on the green belt. A last bid to force the application through was sent to the Scottish Government by Bothwell Land and Developments, which has links to Durant’s business associates.
A government reporter has now said the proposals should be rejected. Council papers revealed the Durant family had signed a Section 75 planning agreement in 2003 which placed restrictions on any development on the site.
But ownership of the plot transferred to a company formed in 2019, Beechtree Wright Ltd. Its sole director is Elaine Smith, who has other business links to Durant. She is the sole director of Bothwell Land and Developments.
Dozens of objectors had been enraged by plans for the “major development” of houses and flats. South Lanarkshire Council’s planning committee confirmed the plans should be refused this year.
Government reporter Rosie Leven said the developer’s claims the site would help solve a housing shortage did not justify building on the land.
In 2018, Lincoln Crown Court heard investigators caught Durant plotting to put his assets out of the reach of creditors.
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