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Fresh Haldanes plans rejected
Aberdeenshire Councillors have overturned a recommendation from officials to approve in principal a controversial development in Ellon town centre, after citing concerns over it’s impact on the town’s amenity and retail environment.
Members of the Formartine Area Committee refused to grant outline planning permission ‘in principle’ on the site of the former Haldenes supermarket in Ellon’s Ythan Terrace, which could in time have seen the demolition of the existing supermarket and its replacement with 63 flats and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Councillor Isobel Davidson said that although she accepted that the site needed to be developed, she had “serious concerns” about the proposal in front of the committee. “There are a number of empty shops in Ellon - the problem is getting the retail mix right and I’m not sure this contributes”, she told colleagues on the committee. “I think we can make much better use of this site.”
Councillor Rob Merson agreed, suggesting that the scale of the buildings proposed risked creating a “concrete corridor through the green heart of Ellon.” Calling for a more sympathetic approach to the site, he disputed that the designs which had been placed before councillors were, as had been suggested, ‘purely indicative’. He had, he said, no problem with redevelopment, but was not happy tying that desire to these specific plans which, he said, lacked sufficient commercial space to attract a major retailer.
Councillor Gillian Owen said that while she was delighted that the proposal contained 35% affordable housing, it would nevertheless result in a reduction in Ellon’s overall retail space. The developer was in her view “still flying a kite.” Given earlier concerns which had been expressed, it was, she said, “disappointing that the developer hadn’t come back with something better.”
Councillor Debra Storr concurred that what councillors were being asked to agree to was “pretty specific”, and that she didn’t think it was well laid out for pedestrian access. “The site looks uncomfortably tight and squeezed”, she said. Acknowledging that there were limits to what councillors could do in order to attract major retailers, she said that retail units were still larger than others available in the town, but that it was “up to the developer to convince us.”
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Weather for Ellon
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
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jonnywow69
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 01:52 AMEllon Councillors need to start thinking more seriously about the future of our town. There always seems to be more and more houses being built with no thought to the centre of Ellon. I would hazard a guess that most of the new residents (moved here in the last 10 years) and a lot of the more established residents never set foot in the town centre, treating Ellon like a bed and breakfast. There is a severe lack of shops and leisure activities for people of all ages. You have to go to Aberdeen or to a lesser extent Inverurie to find what you want. And because of this, shops that do open sometimes don't last more than a year. Councillor Rob Merson needs to ask himself who is seeing and using the "green heart of Ellon" when local residents go elsewhere for shopping and out of towners stay out! Ellon has a very diverse community and I think we should start asking people what they want. Aberdeenshire Councils website states that a "local councillor has a special status in public life which brings with it opportunities to contribute to the well being of society" Ellons councillors need to remember this when making desisions regarding OUR town.
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