Is Huntly Park a done deal in development bid?

The issue is set to dominate the campaign for the council elections next month, with one local resident deciding to stand as an independent candidate on a “Save Huntly Park” ticket.

Freelance journalist Paul Drury only discovered the company’s plans by submitting a series of Freedom of Information requests to East Renfrewshire Council.

Paul said:”It is an absolute disgrace that the council has kept this scheme under wraps since last summer.

“I now have documentary proof that Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd have spent fully 12 months researching and preparing this massive scheme, liaising with the council as they went along.

Paul said it has taken Freedom of Information laws to tease details out of the local authority.

He went on: “This is a monster development, the equivalent of dropping a small town into the heart of a village.

“There is no way local roads could cope with six years worth of building work, never mind the hundreds of new cars such a huge housing development would bring.

“I am standing as a candidate next month to give local people a chance to register their opposition.”

No planning application has yet been submitted, though Mr Drury’s FoI request uncovered a detailed scheme for 320 houses for sale, 80 “affordable” homes and associated retail infrastructure.

A number of houses in Forres Avenue would need to be demolished to provide new road access and the Giffnock North Athletic Club would be relocated.

It is the inclusion of Huntly Park, however, which is expected to spark greatest opposition.

An email from the developer to the council in February this year states: “The masterplan would include the relocation of the existing football club, together with a diverse residential development comprising affordable housing, new open space and landscaping with the integration of Huntly Park into the masterplan.

“Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd, as one of the landowners within the overall Braidbar Quarry area have over the last 12 months carried out extensive research into how the quarry can be remediated.

“Through this process, ACS have established that in order to remediate the quarry in full, the entirety of the land including elements of Huntly Park will require to be considered.”

Huge underground caverns at Braidbar Quarry are the legacy of hundreds of years of quarrying for Giffnock stone.

The material was used to construct Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

Advance Construction (Scotland) Ltd did not respond to a request for comment.