Decisions from a Scottish Government Reporter mean a campaign by the Helensburgh Community Woodlands Group (HCWG) has had mixed success.
Landowners Margery Osborne and Thomas Paterson appealed against a notice by Argyll and Bute Council giving them four months to move a large pile of logs which had been left on the Cumberland Avenue site after trees were felled four and a half years ago.
But the Reporter said the pile was ‘visually incongruous’, supporting the stance taken by the council after campaigns by residents.
A statement this week from HCWG said work was already under way to remove the log pile, ensuring trees planted 18 months ago would be visible from the street.
But a second Section 179 notice, requiring the removal of an adjacent bund or mound of debris from the site, was quashed by the same Scottish Government Reporter, who allowed the appeal, saying the bund did not adversely affect the amenity of the area.
More than 300 people signed a petition saying the bund should be removed and the action was unanimously supported by councillors – the HCWG statement accused the Reporter of only spending an hour on the site, and said the decision ‘brings the local planning process into disrepute’.
David Adams, HCWG convener, said: “All these improvements have been secured only through determined local campaigns organised by HCWG and consequent enforcement action by the council
“It will require continued resolve and vigilance by Argyll and Bute Council in future years to protect what has been achieved so far.”
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