Storage facility plans for former Stirling food project hub
'The building is currently lying empty and the client has struggled to successfully rent it for a number of years."
City centre premises previously used by a local food distribution project could be turned into a storage facility.
Transition Stirling's Community Food Project at 5 Wellgreen Lane closed at the end of 2024 after operating out of the building for more than four years, saying that the free section of the enterprise was 'no longer sustainable'.
The project had helped to reduce food waste, collecting excess food from local supermarkets and offering it to members of the community for free.
Now, however, an application has been lodged with Stirling Council planners by Azam Haider Bhatti seeking to turn the premises from a Class 4 use to Class 6 by creating 55 storage units.
Documents submitted with the application stated: 'Storage Division Ltd, 5 Wellgreen Lane...is a one storey building with a class 4 licence.
'The building is currently lying empty and the client has struggled to successfully rent it for a number of years.
'Previously it has been leased to the Stirling Community Food free of charge to give back to the area.
'However this is not sustainable.
'We are seeking for a change of use to a Class 6 to convert into a storage facility. There will be no external material changes to any of the elevations of the building.
'The storage is aimed for the students and local shopkeepers living and working in the town who don't have cars. There is also a multi storey car park across from the property where we would advise clients to use if required.
'We don't expect any additional noise levels to be generated from the activity.
'This will be open 24 hours and manned by one person.
'There is a list of prohibited materials issued to users as part of the conditions of use: pets; food; plants; guns; drugs; explosives; toxic materials; radioactive substances; and flammables.'
The businessman had joined forces with the community food project on Christmas Eve to operate a Christmas food bank on the premises before it closed for the final time.
As Stirling Aid Christmas Community Food, the volunteers distributed food donated from local businesses and supermarkets for free.
The Community Food Project helped an average of 80 people a day, four days a week and helped divert 740 tonnes of food waste from landfill.
Transition Stirling have continued to operate a number of other projects which had been based on the premises from alternative venues.
Stirling Council planners are expected to make a recommendation on the planning application in due course.
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