West Lothian councillors have backed a housing developer’s bid to come up with alternatives to building a railway station car park as the planning process for proposals looks to be "exhausted."
Stirling Developments had agreed a condition of the Calderwood development to provide a car park at Kirknewton.
Most recently the deadline, or backstop, was to have this built by the time the 1,000th house was occupied in Calderwood.
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That deadline has passed but Stirling was this week given an extension to a backstop condition of 1,700 homes occupied before a solution is found.
It gives the firm roughly another three years to explore options.
The managing director of the development firm said the planning process had “ been exhausted.”
In the meantime the firm has promised to continue with commuter bus links from Calderwood - one of West Lothian's Core Development Area housing sites- on the eastern fringe of East Calder and the station at Kirknewton, three miles to the north.
However some SNP councillors suggested refusal of the extension, claiming acceptance was kicking the proposals for park and ride “ into the long grass” rather than seeking a permanent solution.
The car park condition was first imposed on the firm in 2013. All attempts to develop a site next to Kirknewton railway station have failed .
In a report to the committee, Tony Irving, a planning officer said: “Calderwood is a successful development, a valuable contributor to the housing land supply in West Lothian and continues to generate substantial economic benefits for the local economy.
“Although occupations have exceeded the previous enforcement backstop of 1,000 homes, parking demand at Kirknewton Station remains suppressed and demand for additional station parking has not increased as quickly as anticipated.”
The report added: “Stirling Developments acknowledges the need for Calderwood to be a sustainable community and has actively introduced several sustainable travel options to Calderwood, including bus services, a mobility hub, e-bike scheme and a community electric car.
“These form part of an evolving sustainable travel strategy that Stirling Developments is progressing.
“Stirling Developments has confirmed that it is agreeable to renewing the previous agreement to provide a bus service from Calderwood to Kirknewton Station.”
Peter Stirling, the firm’s managing director told the meeting: “ Stirling Developments has been involved in Calderwood since its inception in 2004. We have submitted four planning applications for various designs and locations around Kirknewton over the last 10 years.
“These applications were not supported by the local community and elected members. In an effort to try and fulfil our planning obligations we did take two of them to appeal and they were also both rejected. “
Mr Stirling said: “I think it’s fair to say that the planning process has probably been exhausted as far as permutations for park and ride at Kirknewton. I think there’s a feeling that the community would rather have a different sustainable transport strategy”.
The completion of Calderwood will see 2,300 homes built.
Ray Kirk, the projects director for the firm said that he was keen to work with the local community to look at proposals for sustainable strategies.
Mr Kirk said: “The reason that the condition was put in place was to avoid high car usage. The park and ride is still reliant on private car usage that is why we have pushed the mobility hub solution.
“That’s why the level of parking at Kirknewton is suppressed, because we have been successful in delivering a bus solution.”
SNP Councillor Willie Boyle said: “ It concerns me that we are being asked to kick this further down the line and regardless of what temporary measure put in if we don’t get this sorted out before the whole development is completed we’ll have missed the bus, if you’ll pardon the pun.”
“We should be looking at sustainable options, but we will never get everyone on to public transport. That’s the reality. What we need is what was asked for in original conditions, the car park.”
Fellow SNP Councillor Pauline Stafford echoed concerns about the reliability of bus services and colleague Councillor Pauline Clark added: “ My concern is that we are kicking this into the long grass. “
Local ward member, and Conservative Group leader Damian Doran -Timson, said: “The problem I have is how many times are we going to ask Stirling Developments to come back and put forward another park and ride that this committee then rejects.
“The issue here is that we need to move forward. It's not just about buses, it’s about a sustainable strategy as well. There’s nothing to say that we can’t bring this back. I will support this.”
Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: " I too am minded to support this. We are where we are.. It’s not the council’s fault or the developer’s fault as regards the decision taken by the Reporter there is an issue of pedestrian safety.”
The committee voted to back the deadline extension by five votes to three.
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