MORE than 20 people have objected to plans to build five up-market homes on land between Cardross and Dumbarton.

The Advertiser revealed two weeks ago that an application has been made for planning permission 'in principle' to develop a site in Ardoch known as the Paddock, between the A814 and the Helensburgh railway line.

And the number of objections – 22 at the time of writing – means it's virtually certain that the application will be determined by councillors on Argyll and Bute Council's planning committee, rather than by officials.

The objectors' concerns focus on eight main issues: road safety, drainage and flooding, the rural nature of the area, the historical nature of Ardoch, the lack of need for additional housing in the area, the impact on wildlife, and the fact that two previous bids by the same applicant to develop the site, in 1989 and 2002, were rejected.

But the agent for the applicant, Helensburgh resident James Black, says that the principle of developing the site is a 'done deal' – because the land was removed from the green belt when the latest local development plan for the area was published.

In his comments to the council, Ardoch resident Raymond Bentinck says road safety concerns have not been addressed since safety in the area was described as “well below accepted levels” in a 1990 report rejecting that first planning application.

Mr Bentinck says: “This is a proportionally dramatic increase to the current number of properties [in Ardoch] and should therefore be viewed as a significant and fundamental change to the nature and amenity of Ardoch and impact to local residents.”

Another Ardoch resident, Patricia Watts, told the Advertiser the presence of major gas and sewage mains underneath the site - not mentioned in the application - made the land unsuitable for development.

Mrs Watts said: “We know there's a gas line, which runs all the way from Motherwell to Oban, running through the field.

“In addition the high pressure sewage main from Helensburgh to Bowling runs through the site. I wouldn't want to be living on top of those.”

Mrs Watts' husband, Brian, who has also objected to the application, said: “I believe the gas main issue is particularly significant. Scottish Gas Networks' guidelines prohibit anyone from driving over, or operating machinery near, a gas main, and you're also not allowed to plant trees within a certain distance of a gas main.

“But no-one apart from people living in Ardoch seemed to know about this. The impression given is that the applicant thought 'I won't tell anybody about that and I'll try and get away with it'.”

Cardross Community Council has also raised the road safety, gas pipeline, flooding and wildlife issues in its own submission to planning officials, and has questioned the need for high-value properties in the area.

Mr Black's agent, John Warren of Milngavie-based Warren Consultants, told the Advertiser that it would be up to Argyll and Bute Council to apply conditions to deal with any of the specific concerns aired by residents, if the authority decides to approve the proposal.

Mr Warren said: “We are putting in an application for planning permission in principle. The council will then put conditions on that, if it decides to approve our application.

“Mr Black is not going to develop the site. Once we have permission in principle, the site will then be sold to a house builder, who will then have to adhere to those conditions.

“The residents are all against development of the site in principle, but that's a done deal under the local development plan.

“The site used to be in the green belt, but the latest local plan places the site within the Cardross village envelope, so that negates the outcome of any previous appeals.”

No objections have been raised by the council's roads department, Network Rail, SEPA or the West of Scotland Archaeology Service.

The closing date for public comments on the application is Friday, January 27. According to the council's website, the application has a 'determination deadline' of Saturday, February 11.