Quarter residents launch fight to save open ground

Jun 5 2008 by John Rowbotham

BATTLELINES are being drawn over plans to develop a recreation area and adjoining grassland in Quarter.

The land off Beech Avenue includes a football pitch.

It has previously been used as the site for the village’s gala day.

An outline planning application to build homes on the land has been lodged with South Lanarkshire Council by an S Miller.

Three objections to the scheme have so far been lodged with the council.

Quarter Neighbourhood Watch Committee have sent out a letter to villagers alerting them to the proposal.

According to the letter, the committee are “very concerned” about the consequences of the plans”.

They say the scheme raises a number of issues including: increased traffic on Beech Avenue; impact on Quarter Primary School; reduction in size of the recreation area, and impact on the village’s sewerage system.

The letter goes on: “It is of particular concern that this could open the floodgates to other areas around the village being developed.”

Dr Jim McMenamin, committee chair man, said it was up to villagers to make their own individual representations to the council.

“The idea of the letter was to remind people that they have a limited period within which they can express their views on the application,” he added.

“There has certainly been some concern expressed about the potential loss of this area.”

The football pitch and grassed area has been the subject of development proposals in the past.

A proposal to develop this site and other land was refused by a reporter after it was considered at the 1997 Hamilton Local Plan inquiry.

A council spokesman said this week: “The application in question is in outline only and as such is simply seeking to establish the principle of development at the site.

“However, as an area of the proposed development site is classed as open space within the adopted Hamilton District Local Plan, the proposal was advertised as development potentially contrary to the development plan.”

One of the village’s councillors, Andy Carmichael, added: “The neighbourhood watch committee felt that because of the overall feeling in the village about the proposal, they should put out leaflets informing villagers of developments.”

Bollards have recently been put up to stop ‘boy racers’ from churning up the ground.