Representation from P Lord, Birkhill, Pool of Muckhart, re Proposed Local Development Plan

I welcome the opportunity to comment on Clackmannanshires Proposed Local Development Plan

(LDP), November 2013, and note the extension given to the deadline given to submit comments to
18
th
February. This extension was most welcome given the large volume of supporting
documentation accompanying the plan itself. My comments follow.
Re Section 1 - Introduction and Section 2 Vision and Objectives
These sections (and others) make frequent reference to sustainability (e.g. in 1.1 sustainable
development, 1,4 sustainable economic and population growth, 2.5 sustainable
Clackmannanshire), but it is not clear what this adjective means in these contexts, and is open to
multiple interpretations. The use of this term needs to be clarified; I trust that it refers in general to
activities which have minimal impact on the natural environment.
Re Section 4 - Creating Sustainable Communities
Policy SC9 states that the Council expects developer contributions. This is inadequate, and the
policy should state that the Council will require developer contributions, and these will be actively
monitored for compliance. It is preferable they be collected before work commences to make it
difficult for the policy to be ignored. This is important given the Councils current financial situation.
Re Section 5 Employment and Prosperity
Muckhart has very poor broadband provision. To achieve the objectives set out in this document of
sustainable communities, promotion of employment opportunities, reduction in commuting outside
the county, and a low carbon economy broadband enhancement should be prioritised in Muckhart.
See policies EP7 and EP8.
Re Section 8 - Proposed developments at the South and East of Muckhart, (proposal H48)
My major concern is the expansion plan for housing in Muckhart and its impact on both the natural
and built environments, and its effect on the local infrastructure.
Not just the Pool of Muckhart
The LDP identifies Muckhart with just the Pool of Muckhart. It should provide options to share the
proposed 35 new housing units over the Yetts o Muckhart and Upper Yetts as well as the Pool of
Muckhart, whilst retaining the separate historical identities of these settlements. H48 should be
amended to reflect this.
Reducing the area of the designated site H48
The five-sided marked area at the Northern corner of the area designated for proposed
development is mature woodland, which is part of the garden to the Woodacre property (and is not
a separate field as indicated on the map provided). This area of woodland is designated as of special
value, forms an essential landscape feature of the village, and as advocated by the Muckhart
Community Council should be included in the Muckhart Conservation Area. We note that there is a
spring at the NE corner of this woodland feeding a watercourse, not marked on the maps in the LDP
(H48), which drains to the SW towards the Pool (see below). This watercourse also drains the pond
which regularly appears adjacent to this woodland just east of the path called Maudies Loan along
the eastern boundary of the site. For all these reasons this wooded area must be taken out of the
area designated for development. The map in H48 should be duly amended.
The area designated in H48 for development (6.64 ha) in the Pool of Muckhart should be reduced so
as to be more proportionate to the area of the village; this would also remove the anomalously low
density of the proposed housing on the site (5.27 units per hectare). An area this size changes the
existing character of the village and conservation area, and would alters its historical linear nature
along the A91. The development area should therefore be reduced significantly and in a manner to
reinforce the traditional linear nature of the village. H48 should be amended to reflect this.
Retention of the Pool of Muckhart and access to the H48 site
The area of wetland, the Pool from which the Pool of Muckhart derives its name, in the designated
area must be retained and restored to a pool, as it was in the past, at the cost of the developer; this
should be done after conducting a wildlife survey in collaboration with wildlife specialists. Should
the pool obstruct access to the site via the old bowling green fronting the A91, then alternative
access should specified using existing roads on the west of the site, suitably upgraded.
The proposed entrance to the site is opposite the village shop and cafe at the centre of the village,
reinforcing the case for providing access elsewhere. This would preserve the views southwards, one
of the stated aims in proposal H48 retaining and enhancing the views from the conservation area.
It would also allow for reinstatement of the bowling green. Amendments required to H48.
Sympathetic development
Development in this area must be of such a nature that:
a) the rural nature of the area is protected;
b) its value to wildlife preserved (red squirrels, Sciurus vulgaris, and the rare rose finch
Carpodacus erythrinus have been observed there);
c) the views from the golf course northwards, from the Pool of Muckhart southwards, and
from Seamab Hill above Muckhart should be protected; and
d) amenities provided for existing and future residents if the village.
For these reasons we urge that the following be required of the developers, at their cost and not
the Councils:
Low profile housing, preferably single story, to protect the landscape;
Provision of a mixture of types of residence (not just large, executive, housing)
Each dwelling be supplied with boundary hedges of shrubs and trees indigenous to Scotland;
A community orchard(s) and woodland be incorporated into the plans;
A sports field be incorporated into the plan, providing a better alternative to the current
field close to the busy A91 to the southwest of the village. This to be provided instead of a
developer contribution to community art.
The views west from Maudies Loan on the north boundary of the site remain as undisturbed
as possible, including the retention of trees and bushes along this boundary.
On environmental and aesthetic grounds buildings must be made with traditional materials
where possible, and that consideration be given to supplying them with shared energy
sources (district heating, from, say, biomass see policies SC13 to SC19).