A DUMFRIES man is facing stiff opposition in his bid to set up a concrete plant business in Lochside.
Mr L Scott has submitted a planning application with Dumfries and Galloway Council to erect what’s known as a self-batching concrete station.
This would allow contractors and individuals in the community to buy competitively priced, quality concrete, mortar and screed.
The self-batching concrete station is a compact facility, rather than a large industrial unit, and the application is also for the siting of a cabin, boundary fence, and aggregate stores.
The chosen site is vacant land adjacent to Irongray Road at Lochside Industrial Estate, but it is close to a house and the Knowhead Boarding Kennels and Cattery business.
The owner of the house and business submitted a letter of objection to the council, insisting: “For me, living opposite this plant would be hell. “This would not improve my health and wellbeing nor that of anyone living and working in the vicinity.”
However, council planning case officer Joshua Scott has recommended that the development be approved, subject to conditions – but there have been 22 objections.
Nine of these objectors are people who live in Dumfries, while the others are at addresses located all over the country, from Bognor Regis and Dagenham to Cambridge and Bolton.
Various reasons have been given for opposing the development, including a potential land use conflict because of the nearby house and kennels and cattery business.
There are also concerns about the potential impact on the visual amenity because the hopper concrete machinery is overly large (8m in height).
Objectors have also raised issues around the impact on the natural environment. loss of privacy, overshadowing, noise and pollution.
Council planning papers state: “The application site, which comprises a 20m wide landscaped buffer area is mainly grassed with some non-mature trees, and separates the estate from the Irongray Road.
“The proposal comprises the erection of a self-batching concrete station and associated infrastructure and landscaping. The self-batching concrete station would measure a total of 13m in width and 11m in depth, with a maximum height of 8m by virtue of the hopper.
“The hopper would be finished in a dark green colour set against the backdrop of the existing trees to the north-west. A 2.8m high timber
acoustic fence would also be located in close proximity to the mixing station.”
The application will be determined at the council’s planning committee next Wednesday.
