ANGRY campaigners say they have been betrayed by Inverclyde Council after developers got the go-ahead to build on greenbelt land in Kilmacolm. Bill Crookston, chair of Kilmacolm Residents Association, said the group fought doggedly to protect the greenbelt over the years and never thought they would end up defeated by their own local authority. He hit out after developers MacTaggart and Mickel succeeded in their bid to build 78 houses at Kilmacolm Meadow, west of Quarry Road, by a vote of 8-4 at a tense full council meeting. Mr Crookston said: The Kilmacolm Residents Association have fought the volume housebuilders for years but never thought that we d be beaten by our own council.
HOUSEBUILDERS behind a controversial bid to develop 75 homes on greenbelt land in Kilmacolm insist their estate would be eco-friendly. Mactaggart & Mickel want to build in Quarry Drive and say the properties would be partly powered by renewable energy sources. Under their blueprint, the site would not be connected to the national gas network. The company say it would be fossil free in advance of the Scottish Government s requirement that gas central heating is banned from all newly built houses by 2025. The developers have submitted an outline planning application to Inverclyde Council for the project and say that they will continue to encourage people in the village to have their say on the plans.