Springfield Properties chairman Sandy Adam held up placards highlighting the 287 weeks – five and a half years – that the council has spent considering his Durieshill planning application.
He was accompanied by an eight-foot Sidney the snail wearing a sign saying “I move faster than Stirling Council”.
Mr Adam also attended the council meeting seeking explanations for the planning delays.
It has been 287 weeks since a planning application was submitted for the Durieshill development, which would see the construction of 3,000 new homes in the area.
According to Sandy Adam, planning officials have failed to meet agreed timescales, most recently pushing back a milestone date that had been earmarked for the Section 75 agreement to be tabled.
The Section 75 agreement, regarding Springfield’s contribution to local infrastructure, was due to be discussed at yesterday’s council meeting but was removed from the agenda at the last minute.
He said: “There is a well-documented housing crisis in Scotland, with communities across the country crying out for new private and affordable homes. Specifically in Stirling, the need for housing was identified in the local development plan 20 years ago.
“Springfield brought the solution to Stirling Council in 2016, and councillors instructed their officials to move forward with this development in 2019 when permission was granted. Since then, significant time and effort has been put into bringing this development to life, and yet five years later we have not been able to proceed.
“Durieshill will be a fantastic addition to Stirling, and we know it has the support of the council who voted to grant planning, and of the local community who have been calling for new homes for a long time.
“It is embarrassing for Stirling Council that we are in this position, unable to move forward because of the inaction of officers who have given no reasonable justification for these delays.”
Sandy Adam continued: “The benefits of Durieshill go beyond the provision of housing. It will create jobs and apprentice opportunities, it will see the creation of a new school, improvement in infrastructure, and inject money into the local economy.
“Springfield has extensive experience in building large village developments and in no other council area have we witnessed anything like this. Our Dykes of Gray development of 1,500 homes took just 62 weeks for consent to be issued, our Bertha Park development of 3,000 homes took 76 weeks. At Durieshill we are at 287 weeks and counting.
“We fully recognise the importance of getting the Section 75 right, but the council has had years to look at this, and when councillors asked for clarity on the issue, the reaction of officials is to postpone decisions, rather than using the extensive studies and reports available to answer the questions being raised.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson responded: “The Durieshill development is one of largest detailed planning applications to have been approved in Scotland. As such it requires significantly more time to determine than an application for permission in principle for a similar sized development.
“A development of this size and scale also requires complex mitigations for education and transport infrastructure that involves extensive dialogue with third parties to ensure all necessary approvals are in place.
“Stirling Council has already demonstrated significant commitment to this major project, including the approval of capital funding for a new primary school in March 2023.
“The council and the developer are close to completing the Section 75 agreement process, and the council remains committed to working closely with the developer to ensure the development is effectively planned and managed, while the appropriate democratic scrutiny takes place.
“Detailed work on pre-start conditions is also underway which will allow the developer to start at the earliest opportunity once all approvals are in place.”
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