Gladman have plans for Waterfoot homes

Waterfoot has been the subject of many such plans over the years which have been fought at every turn by residents.

Gladman Developments, say they are merely trying to fulfil the wishes of the late Basil Baird whose family still own the land west of Glasgow Road and is earmarked for development.

Local opinion on the matter runs high with Waterfoot Action, a community group set up to fight the proposals, saying: “While we appreciate the effort to canvas the opinion of Clarkston residents, we wonder if those surveyed were made aware of all the facts surrounding this supposedly marvellous housing plan for Waterfoot.

“Did Gladman, for instance, point out that the proposed development would be built on greenbelt land that lies at the very heart of the village, or that the site has not been designated as suitable for development in either East Renfrewshire Council’s current or forthcoming Local Development Plan?

“Did they make it clear that they had to abandon their previous attempt to develop the land following an assessment by the Scottish Government Reporter, who said that it was inappropriate to build on the site because it would have led to a substantial change in the area’s landscape.

“We suggest that the next time Gladman want to conduct a survey they might consider asking the people of Waterfoot. We would be more than willing to tell them what we think of their plans!”

A spokesman for Gladman told us: “The majority of people who took part in the survey last week said they are aware that East Renfrewshire is facing a sizeable shortage of family homes, and that many of them of them would consider Waterfoot as a place to live if new housing becomes available there.

“The poll also found that most people questioned see a new development as an opportunity to improve local infrastructure.”

Gladman, who have submitted a planning application for up to 200 new homes in Waterfoot, claim the project will support hundreds of jobs and result in an increased revenue of around £7 million annually to the area.

As part of their application, they commissioned an independent economic impact report.

The evaluation found that the four-year construction period would support over 50 full time jobs on site each year and nearly 200 other related jobs during the lifetime of the £25m project.

In addition, East Renfrewshire Council would benefit by just under £520,000 annually in new Council Tax revenue.

New home owners are predicted to spend an extra £1.4 million annually in the area and this would support 29 new retail jobs.

And the area in general could benefit by an additional £5 million annually of new disposable income.

A spokesman for Gladman said: “It’s clear from our research that most people surveyed would welcome new housing in Waterfoot, particularly as a substantial proportion of our proposed development will include badly-needed affordable Homes.”

Waterfoot Action also said: “Did Gladman mention that more than 450 residents of Waterfoot signed a petition against their plans because it threatened to destroy the character of the village and put local infrastructure, schools and medical services under serious pressure?

“And we do hope they made it known that their proposals are totally opposed by our former MP as well as local MSPs from across the political spectrum.

“In our opinion, if this information wasn’t provided to those surveyed then it surely must throw into question the results.

East Renfrewshire Council have confirmed an application was submitted on May 25 for planning permission in principle.