Argument rages on over woodland plans in Bearsden

A row has broken out over a petition launched by a resident to '˜Save Canniesburn Woods' by blocking a planning application.
Canniesburn woods in Bearsden.Canniesburn woods in Bearsden.
Canniesburn woods in Bearsden.

The agent for the person hoping to fence off an area of the woods in Bearsden has defended his client’s plans.

Chris Johnstone, a partner at Dallman Johnstone Architects in Bearsden, said: “My client has bought a piece of land and intends to use it as a wild outdoor dog free space, not as a cultivated garden.

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“It was owned by Greenspace before but they sold it to my client who has been doing all the maintenance work along with East Dunbartonshire tree officers.

People will still retain a right of way through the woods, the path will just be moved approximately 15 metres.

“Fourteen out of 56 trees have been identified as sick or damaged in an independent tree survey carried out by an Arboriculturist and accepted by the council. They need to be removed to benefit the wood as a whole and 14 new trees will be planted.”

The land to be enclosed within a fence measures 0.2 acres and the entire woodland area measures five acres.

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Twenty-one people have signed the change.org petition set up by Jacqueline Docherty.

She said: “There has been an application to change Canniesburn Woodland into a massive private garden with a two meter high surrounding fence.”

She claims that “everyone will lose the right of way” to walk, exercise their dogs and for children to play in the wooded area. And she says that destroying the trees will adversely affect the wildlife in the woods such as foxes, hedgehogs, bats, birds including kestrels and deer, as “they will lose their wildlife corridor”.

Petition supporter Laura Allan from Glasgow said: “This is so sad as I walk there regularly and see lots of wildlife in this small piece of land. There is not many green places left for our wildlife.”

James Curnyn from Tarbert said: “This is a lovely little bit of green, calm sanity in the urban jungle .”

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