Please sign this petition to record your objection to the continual destruction of the Cumbernauld’s greenspace.  This petition will be presented to North Lanarkshire Council Chief Executive, North Lanarkshire Council Planning, MSPs, and local Councillors.  There has been a continuous destruction of local green space, previously protected open spaces and a dangerous direction taken by North Lanarkshire Council in allowing a substantial number of new housing to be built on these spaces but also without the proper consideration and amendments needed to the local infrastructure and community health services or community engagement facilities.  There has been little to no recognition of the Affordable Housing requirements.  Indigenous wildlife has been displaced and some current wildlife and designated community areas are under new threats with little to no protection offered by North Lanarkshire Council.  Scottish Wildlife Trust define greenspace as “…space associated with human settlements where wildlife can flourish.”  These areas are being destroyed, primarily for commercial benefit rather than community benefit.

A current example of this practice is that this week sees the launch of a public consultation seeking local views on a planned new housing development on a section of Dullatur Golf Club’s Antonine course. The consultation website confirms the developer plans to construct around 600 new homes on the site, “comprising a mixture of private and affordable family homes”.
The site includes the Croymill Spinney, which is an identified Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), and included within the development boundary are a number of trees covered by a Tree Protection Order, although the developer notes “due to the topography of the site, some trees may need to be removed and these will be replaced through new tree planting across the site”. Ecology surveys are also underway to identify the wildlife population and existing use of the area.

Road access to the development will be mainly via an upgraded roundabout on Constarry Road, with an additional access junction (yet another roundabout) located between there and Balloch Roundabout. We are concerned as our current infrastructure will not be able to handle the traffic that this size of development will bring, the Eastfield Road is already nose to tail at rush hour from the Craiglin roundabout to beyond Tesco and the road through Croy is not able to carry the burden of this extra traffic either.  Our schools will be over stretched as will our Doctor and Dental surgeries. 

The destruction of this green space cannot go ahead, there has already been around 200 houses built in the Cala/Belway estate leading into Dullatur, around 250 in the two newer estates in Smithstone, and around 100 in the estate near Westerwood Hotel in recent years but we still have no more community resources, the local Doctors surgery is full and has been for years and out nearest dental surgery is either the village or the town centre.  Looking at the plans they are currently recommending, the only factored community space is a play park underneath an overhead power line.  

At the moment this is a 'pre-planning' proposal, there is nothing to officially object to as yet, but there is an online consultation available and we need to make our voices heard. Please sign this petition and visit the website https://www.dullaturplanning.co.uk - ask questions/submit feedback, this is our community and our greenspaces, and we need to act now to stop this. When I moved to Craigmarloch in 2001 it was marketed as 'The natural place to live' - the way things are heading there will be no nature left, we must act now.