Bothwell Planning Action Group see red over Gailes Park annex plan

More than 60 objections have been lodged to the plans for the annex in Gailes Park which was originally approved in 2015.A dedicated website has been set up by the Bothwell Planning Action Group who are opposed to the proposals as they believe the circumstances haven’t changed in the last six years.If approved, the plans could potentially see the granny annex sold off or rented as a separate home.

It has been argued that this could create a “significant detrimental impact to to residential amenity” within the development.In total, 61 objections have been submitted to the council with concerns that the area could become overdeveloped and that it would set a “dangerous precedent”.Outlining some of the reasons for objecting, the Bothwell Planning Action Group said: “The 2015 application for planning permission was for a granny annex, not for a separate dwelling house.“It is clear that had the said application been for alteration and conversion to form a separate dwelling house it would have been refused.“The reason was that ‘the granny annex cannot provide an acceptable dwelling without creating a significant detrimental impact to residential amenity’.“The objections made by residents of the estate in 2015 were against the grant of consent as they feared that the application was only a first step in a plan to obtain planning permission for a separate dwelling house.

" The fears now appear well founded.“The granny annex as a separate dwelling house is out of character with the rest of the estate.

"It has significantly less accommodation than other properties on the same estate or vicinity.“As a separate house it will look out of place and will be used far more than a granny annex which by definition is designed for one person.“The original house was extended greatly and what is now the granny annex was extended by the 2015 Consent.

"There is not enough garden ground for the use of the granny annex as a separate dwelling house.”