A LAND owner is to be reported to the Procurator Fiscal for leaving storage containers on open land in Tillicoultry without permission.
Disciplinary action was agreed upon by Clackmannanshire Council’s Planning Committee, after a debate about the use of land.
The land had been bought from the council by the current owner, with intentions of redeveloping the area for residential use.
However, the land has become “known as a local scrapyard” due to the presence of two shipping containers, JCB vehicle, a minibus and a number of cars over the years.
The open area forms the corner of the A908 and the access road to Devonpark Mills in Tillicoultry, with the storage containers and vehicles sat on the green space.
The area has been closed off with heras fencing, which the council also states is an unauthorised development due to the proximity to the road.
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At the Planning Committee meeting on Thursday, October 31, councillors heard of the land owner’s personal circumstances, which he said had made it difficult to remove the vehicles in a timely fashion.
These included delays from Covid-19, his employment for the provision of defence training in Ukraine and his personal health.
Previously, the council had served the owner with a Planning Enforcement Notice on November 13, 2023, calling for the clearing of the site within a period of six months, with heras fencing to be removed two weeks after that.
The paper stated: “The owner failed to comply with the terms of the notice within the compliance period by June 14.
“It is considered, however, that the service has provided a reasonable period of time and opportunity for the owner to try and address the breaches of planning control.”
A meeting was held between the council and the land owner on September 25, 2024, where he stated an intention to clear the vehicles and apply for planning permission for a small residential development.
Two vehicles were removed from the site around this time, but no further action had been taken.
Councillors considered four options for the land owner – reporting to the Procurator Fiscal, a fixed penalty notice of £2000, direct action from the council and no further action.
After considering all options, a report to the Procurator Fiscal was decided upon, with Cllr Bryan Quinn leading the motion forward.
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“I feel very strongly towards planning law and the Planning Committee,” he said. “Given the site being there for so long and some of his reasons don’t add up so there is no willingness to comply to me.
“If you’re needing storage, you can hire places to put a container or hire containers somewhere so that’s not good justification for dumping it on land where it’s not permitted.
“There’s been no legal problems from our side, no planning applications put in and there’s been extremely little progress made to comply over so many years now.
“I think we need to go with the strongest option here to get things moving.”
Cllr Donald Balsillie also agreed with the motion to report the Procurator Fiscal, insisting it has gone on for long enough.
“This case has been going on for a long while,” he added. “It’s in a very prominent location and I’ve received lobbying complaints from the community council.
“The applicant doesn’t seem to have been responding in any way and does continue to be operating the site.
“We’re left with little option, the council is facing reputational damage for not tackling this sooner so I do feel it’s appropriate we do take action.”
Should legal action against the land owner fail, the council can still then take direct action and seize the vehicles themselves.
Support was also given by Cllrs Kenny Earle, Fiona Law and Denis Coyne, before the committee unanimously agreed on the report to the Procurator Fiscal.
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