Lane battle goes into round three

WEST End campaigners have vowed to fight off developers for a third time to stop them building in a conservation area.

A company owned by Glasgow’s biggest developer Hugh Scott has lodged plans for 49 homes in four large blocks on Otago Lane, after twice withdrawing plans following pressure from local residents and businesses.

People who live and work on the lane fear the development will destroy the period character of the area and choke off the quirky businesses on it, which include a clock repairer, a vintage bookshop and a tea house.

Katy Gordon, a LibDem campaigner who has battled the developers before, said: “This is third time lucky. We want to see them off for good.”

By filing an application for only 49 homes, the developers have avoided the legal requirement for a full 12-week public consultation required for a 50-home development.

Now protesters must encourage the public to send in as many letters of objection as possible.

Previous campaigns saw thousands of letters sent to the council.

Ms Gordon added: “We have already seen off the developers twice. Local businesses and residents have had this hanging over them for three years. It’s incredible how much time campaigners have put in, sacrificing their lives and putting strain on their businesses. Nonetheless, our campaign will continue.”

The plans for the new development appear to have changed little from the last one filed, according to consultant Iain Steel, 37, who has led the campaign to save the lane.

He claimed: “We feel the consultation process has been a joke. We have never got to the point where the council says the development should not go ahead.

“It’s a war of attrition, because they withdraw plans every time it looks as if they are to be rejected and we go back to square one.

“There are only a limited number of times we can persuade the public to write letters. But this issue is very much in the hearts and minds of the people in the lane.