Carrick Hills caravan plan must be halted, says MSP

Aug 28 2009 by Edwin Lawrence, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

DON’T ruin the Carrick Hills with a caravan site.

That’s the plea from Ayr MSP John Scott.

And he’s urging South Ayrshire Council to reject a plan for a new holiday park on the coast road, south of Ayr.

The application has already prompted a storm of protest from local residents.

Hundreds of comments of objection are being put on the council’s planning website.

Mr Scott has also submitted a formal objection of his own to the planning department.

He said: “If this plan were to be given the go-ahead then the new holiday park, which would include 93 static caravans and 49 touring caravans, would occupy a stretch of land running fully three-quarters of a mile along the A719 and would be highly visible from points along the whole of the Ayr bay.”

He added: “I have been contacted by many constituents who are concerned, quite rightly in my view, that the granting of permission for this development would fundamentally and damagingly alter the visual amenity of the Ayr bay and impact negatively on the quality of life in the area.”

Mr Scott went on: “Although the plans include proposals to screen the development, I believe that the sheer scale of the site under consideration would make it impossible to achieve this in a manner that would in any way be sympathetic to the immediate area or that would not itself cause a significantly detrimental visual impact.”

And the MSP concluded: “The natural beauty of the Carrick Hills makes a vital contribution to the quality of life of our area, and I strongly urge that this plan for a large-scale holiday park be rejected in order to help protect that beauty.”