Last Chance to Save Park of Keir

Tell the Planning Minister to reject the deal on Park of Keir

After years of secret negotiations, Stirling Council and the developer Allan Duncan King have now reached an agreement to build on Park of Keir. Despite clear objections from the local community and Councillors across the political spectrum, on the 3^rd of August, legal restrictions meant that Councillors on Stirling’s Planning Panel were unable to outright reject the deal.

The Scottish Government’s Planning Minster Tom Arthur now has the final say on whether this development goes ahead. It’s up to him to reject this unpopular, undemocratic, and destructive proposal.

We have already forced the Council to listen. Earlier in August, hundreds of you wrote to the Councillors on the planning panel and persuaded them to take a stand against the development. Even though their hands were tied the panel expressed its clear displeasure at the position it had been put in and now the case for the Minister to reject the deal is stronger than ever.

We can’t stop now. There’s still a chance to halt this damaging development. But we need your help.

We’re asking you to write to Tom Arthur and let him know you want him to do the right thing; reject the deal and save Park of Keir.

What’s Park of Keir?

Park of Keir is the jewel in the crown of our greenbelt that stretches from Dunblane to Bridge of Allan. The beautiful rolling landscape is much valued by local communities and is home to native woodland. If development proceeds much of that will be lost.

What’s wrong with the deal?

The deal that’s been struck bears little resemblance to the commitments made by Judy Murray when the project was first mooted. The deal doesn’t meet the requirements of providing the affordable Tennis facilities that were promised and it’s clear that thanks to new funding arrangements the expensive luxury houses are not to support the sporting facilities but will go ahead anyway.

Why should we save Park of Keir?

The plans would be extremely environmentally destructive. As the Scottish Government reporter noted, this development will erode the openness of the green belt and would have an adverse effect on the landscape character. The development will be inaccessible by public transport and has been designed with private cars in mind. It will degrade native woodland and its environmentally destructive.

Tell the Planning Minister to reject the deal on Park of Keir. Please add your name at the end of the email before submitting.

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Dear Minister,

I am writing to you regarding PPA-390-2042 (Planning Permission Appeal), Land at Park of Keir, Dunblane, FK15 9NU.

Despite repeated objections from local residents and Councillors, Park of Keir remains under threat of having an unwanted, unnecessary, destructive development imposed on it.  
I am asking you to please listen to the local community, reject the plans and save Park of Keir.

When this development was first mooted by property developers working with Judy Murray we were promised a world class tennis academy, something which would secure the future of the game in Scotland. It’s now clear that their original vision will not be realised. 
Indeed, even the commitment to provide genuinely affordable and accessible access to the sports facilities has been eroded to the point where it is now meaningless.

We were also told that the luxury housing aspect of the development was essential to fund the tennis facilities, but the draft planning agreement also makes clear that alternative funding is being sought which undermines the entire justification for building houses.  
What we are left with is an agreement that doesn’t fulfil the original promise, provides no direct access to sport for deprived communities but offers up luxury housing for the wealthy. All while irreversibly eroding the greenbelt and damaging native woodland.

Communities in the area surrounding Park of Keir have been consistently vocal in their opposition to these plans. Many hundreds of people wrote to their Councillors asking them to reject this unpopular, undemocratic and destructive proposal. At a meeting of Stirling Council’s Planning Panel on 3rd August councillors expressed their dismay and frustration at the undemocratic process leading to this agreement.

This application was rejected by Stirling Council when it was first submitted. That decision was vindicated after a long, and expensive, public inquiry after which the Reporter recommended that the Council’s original decision be upheld. Your predecessor overruled that recommendation, subject to certain conditions being met which were intended to address the concerns of the local community.

However, the agreement that has been reached fails to address those concerns and proves their objections, which have been repeatedly expressed throughout this protracted process, were completely justified.

This application has been rejected by the community, the council and the Scottish Government’s own reporter. The agreement mandated by your predecessor does not address the concerns which have been expressed since the project’s inception. But you now have the final say on whether it goes ahead. I urge you to please, listen to the voice of the community, do the right thing and save Park of Keir.

Yours sincerely

This message will be sent to MinisterPFPCW@gov.scot marked with your email address

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Tell the Planning Minister to reject the deal on Park of Keir

Tell the Planning Minister to reject the deal on Park of Keir. Please add your name at the end of the email before submitting.

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