BRAEHEAD ROAD - "SCAR ON HILLSIDE" SAYS COMMUNITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN
PLANS for a new road connecting the Braehead housing development in Stonehaven to the site of a proposed business park and supermarket have come under fire.
The planning application, by Bancon Developments, for a new distributor road from Braehead to East Newtonleys has attracted 60 letters of objection.
The application was submitted in March 2009, but after discussions with Aberdeenshire Council's Roads Department, Bancon revised their plans. The company were then advised to re-issue neighbour notification letters to allow residents to see the revisions which had been made.
The new spine road would run from a point slightly north of the current A957 and the Braehead access road, all the way to the A92. It is then proposed to close off the existing A957 at its southern end so that it provides access only to Dunnottar Woods.
Ben Freeman, Planning Manager for Bancon Developments, said: "The Traffic Assessment carried out for the supermarket application identifies that the spine road will now be desirable to ease traffic safety on the A957, if the supermarket proposal is deemed acceptable. Bancon therefore propose that the two applications be considered effectively as a single entity, with each dependent on the other.
"It is the projected trip generation from this development that necessitates the construction of a spine road. The new road will overcome safety concerns on the current A957 road, which has a number of steep, sharp bends with limited visibility."
At a recent meeting of Stonehaven Community Council, strong opposition to the application was re-iterated, and Chairman David Fleming said: "This road, landscaped or not, will be a large scar across the hillside, and no amount of landscaping will prevent the headlights of vehicles being seen for miles away.
"It is our contention that this proposal is a thinly disguised attempt to facilitate a bid that has been submitted for the Main Issues Report, and whose future has yet to be determined by Aberdeenshire Council."
Mr Fleming said the community council also had concerns about noise levels, the lack of attention that would be devoted to the lower section of the A957 which would have to accommodate more traffic with no improvements and the decision to close off the existing A957.
Catterline, Kinneff and Dunnottar Community Council had submitted their objections to the proposal as it stood in October 2009, focusing on pollution, road traffic safety and the fact that the application appeared "pre-emptive."
One Braehead resident, when lodging his objections, stated: "Aside from the obvious increase in noise contamination, the prime issue here is the introduction of large, and more importantly, fast through traffic close to the estate. The entrance road, as it stands, is our only protection from the would be F1 drivers who have to break suddenly as we indicate to enter the estate. Further, it is the only road which finally takes us away from the HGVs that plough through Stonehaven, having come through the Netherley.
"What is proposed brings both these hazards directly into the estate, which has a large percentage of young families with children playing in the area, including around the field on the other side of the proposed road."
Another local said: "Obviously no-one has taken the time to count the number of heavily laden HGVs already using the existing road who have to navigate tight corners - now you would be asking them to navigate three extra roundabouts which will be en-route in and out of Stonehaven. The idea beggars belief."
And another stated: "My objection is simply that I do not appreciate the tactic of gaining permission for this access road which will be used to potentially smooth or somehow make more plausible the greater application for housing or supermarket development on this site.
"In my opinion, such an application should be made in its entirety and stand or fall by the true merits of the business and social case. Moreover, in the event that the greater application is never approved, the installation of a spine road will leave a redundant road which will eventually fall into disrepair and will add to the scare that it will be on the landscape."
Various residents have branded the proposal "absurd", "ridiculous" and "grossly premature", while another said it would "fundamentally affect" all of the houses currently on the estate.
Others supported an alternative scheme for upgrading the current A957, while some residents stated that the business park at East Newtonleys could be effectively served by the existing A92 and A90 roads. The effect on the environment and surrounding woodland was also cause for concern.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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