The wasted land: MoD should bring empty property back into use, says MSP

An MSP has urged the Ministry of Defence to bring its empty buildings back into use and make land available for affordable housing.

Jackie Baillie made the plea this week after the MoD once again failed to show it had any firm plans for several sites in the Helensburgh area, including historic buildings.

Earlier this year it was revealed here that MoD and Argyll & Bute Council officials had held over 20 meetings behind closed doors of the strategic delivery and development framework (SDDF) board and senior management group.

Council planners were asked for assurances that enough land was available for new developments, and the Royal Navy was updated on progress by developers including Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, as well as the controversial plans for housing in Portincaple.

Some existing MoD property was occasionally discussed, but no action was agreed to reverse what in some cases has been decades of neglect, while green field sites in the area were allocated for housing.

Ms Baillie, MSP for the Dumbarton constituency, said: “It is vitally important that historic buildings in our community are not allowed to remain empty and fall into a state of disrepair.

“That is equally true in the case of empty properties that would provide much-needed housing in our local area.

“It would be better to bring that housing back into use rather than encroach further on greenbelt land which will negatively change the character of our local communities.

“The MoD own a number of properties in the area that need to be brought back into use and they have land that would help to provide affordable housing.

“I hope that they will work with the council to help restore important local buildings and provide much-needed housing for local people.”

MoD property in the area includes:

The former St Andrews School

A B-listed building in Shandon, this was bought by the MoD in December 1989 for £2.5m, the equivalent of £6.2m today – since then it has stood empty, while becoming increasingly derelict.

It featured frequently in SDDF meetings, initially as an agenda item in its own right, with the MoD saying it was keen to dispose of the site but this ‘requires careful handling due to security sensitivities’.

Minutes show that in May 2017 a council planning official told the MoD the building should be made wind and watertight, but within three years part of the roof had collapsed.

The South Lodge of West Shandon House

This had been occupied as a home until the MoD paid £180,000 for it in 2014 ‘to protect the building’ – since then it has been empty with no indication of what it might be used for.

Also B-listed, it stands on the opposite side of the main A814 from the former school. Both are near the Faslane Peace Camp.

The South Lodge was designed by J T Rochead, who also designed the Wallace monument near Stirling and the nearby Blairvadach building, which is also empty but owned by Argyll and Bute Council.

An MoD spokesperson said of the two buildings: “A number of different options for the sites have been considered and we continue to explore their viability.

“In the meantime, both the former St Andrew’s School site and the South Lodge of West Shandon House have been secured on health and safety grounds.”

Ardpeaton Gardens

These eight homes in Ardpeaton, with a view over Loch Long, have been empty for eight years – they are near the location used for last year’s BBC TV drama The Nest.

Several years ago Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust approached the MoD to see if the houses could be made available for local people, but was told they were needed for navy personnel.

In June 2020 the MoD said the houses would be retained for Royal Navy personnel and modernised this year, but a spokesperson this week indicated that the project could take longer – a planning application for an external wall insulation system was approved by the council this summer.

“The properties at Ardpeaton are awaiting external work,” she said.

“We cannot give a date for when they will be reoccupied as this work will require, a bat survey to be undertaken and then the work to be completed.”

Smugglers Way

The MoD demolished 80 maisonettes on this estate in Rhu in 2018, saying they had been vacant for several years, were surplus to requirements and that the demolition would ‘improve the local landscape’.

The land is now vacant.

The MoD spokesperson said: “Following the demolition of the maisonettes, we continue to make safe the site at Smugglers Way.

“There are no current plans for the land but future MoD development is possible.”

Glen Mallan House and Lodge

These buildings are near the NATO jetty on Loch Long, where a £64m project to upgrade it so the UK’s huge new aircraft carriers can come alongside is currently several months behind schedule.