New Cumnock greenfield housing plan thrown out by planners
A proposal to build six new homes on greenfield land near New Cumnock has been rejected by East Ayrshire Council planners.
Officials said that the development failed to meet key housing, environmental and transport policies.
The application sought permission for a mix of single-storey and one-and-a-half-storey properties on a 1.94-hectare site around 3.5km southeast of Cumnock.
But planning officers recommended refusal, citing multiple breaches of the Local Development Plan and Scotland's national planning framework.
The site lies outside the established settlement boundary of New Cumnock and within what the council terms the 'Rural Diversification Area.'
While small-scale rural housing is sometimes permitted in such areas, planners said this scheme did not meet any of the accepted exceptions.
Exceptions include sites being classed as brownfield land, provide support for rural business or meet any housing need that would justify its remote location.
Two objections were submitted during consultation, with concerns raised about over-development of the rural landscape, road safety, lack of public transport and loss of character.
Despite this, council consultees including the Ayrshire Roads Alliance and Environmental Health had no objections in principle, subject to conditions.
However, the central issue remained the location. The site is currently open agricultural land with no prior development.
Officers noted its inaccessibility by foot, cycle or public transport, concluding it would be entirely car-dependent – a key failing under both local and national sustainability goals.
The report stated that the proposal is not within a sustainable location served by public transport and will not provide direct, easy, segregated and safe links to local facilities via walking, wheeling and cycling networks.
In addition to transport issues, the development was found to conflict with climate mitigation policies.
No details were provided on how energy efficiency would be achieved or how carbon emissions would be minimised.
Planners also criticised the lack of a soil management strategy, noting the proposal failed to demonstrate how disruption to the undeveloped land would be minimised.
Although officials said the design and layout of the homes was broadly acceptable they stressed this did not outweigh the failure to meet rural housing and environmental policies.
The application was therefore refused under delegated powers.
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