Stonebyres is an historic estate in the mid-Clyde valley, directly adjacent to the Black Hill fort & cairn Scheduled Ancient Monument. The estate has existed since the 14th century and while only the ruins remain of the main estate house, the estate retains historic elements including the coach house and adjacent listed buildings; a roman road; and one of the first smallholding establishments in Scotland. The Stonebyres estate is also recognised as a “designed landscape” by Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage and is classified by South Lanarkshire Council as being a “Special Landscape Area”

Over recent years a number of housing developments have been approved within the estate. These developments are usually on farmland (3 acres of farmland lost so far) and they generally coincide with woodland removal (approximately 9 acres of ancient woodland and 1 acre of native woodland cleared so far), resulting in direct impact on wildlife and the erosion of the overall special landscape character of the estate.

The latest in a series of applications (there are more planned) is for 2 houses. The site of the application is directly in the siteline of the Black Hill fort & Cairn and is within metres of a class 1 wildlife corridor which forms part of Scotland’s integrated habitat network.  

Please sign this petition asking South Lanarkshire Council to stop future housing development in the Stonebyres estate and avoid future erosion of this special rural landscape.

If you would like to know more about Stonebyres a potted history can be found in a report commissioned by Scotland’s Garden & Landscape Heritage at the link below 

http://canmore-pdf.rcahms.gov.uk/wp/00/WP004778.pdf