Residents of Stirling’s Westhaugh estate hit out last week at work near their homes involving the clearing of trees and vegetation.
Smoke from fires blew across houses and roads in the area from the vacant caravan site by the Forth at Cornton where the work was carried out.
It followed plans, submitted last year, to reinstate caravans which had been removed from the floodplain site in the early 2010s.
One resident who contacted the Observer last Friday said work had commenced at the site a few weeks ago, but last week fire engines were called out on a number of occasions.
He added: “Numerous mature trees have been removed from the area, and a JCB digger has been involved.
“Trees have been felled and burned.
“And the amount of smoke in the air has got so bad that children cannot go outside to play”.
Another resident pointed out this week that the burning of trees and branches had been taking place within 30 to 50 metres of houses.
He added that the fire brigade had been out on numerous occasions and “four times on Friday alone”.
Resident David Baillie of Waterfront Way said: “I have lived on the estate since 2004. This is very worrying from an environmental point of view. “These were mature trees which were 20ft-30ft high.
“They acted as a flood prevention barrier and carbon sink.
“Without them the area is a lot more vulnerable to flooding.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue this week confirmed that they were called out to the site near Fishermans Walk on Wednesday July 7, at 3.33pm and 10.50pm and Thursday July 8 at 10.48pm.
Two appliances attended at 3.33pm on July 7; one at 10.50pm on July 7 and one at 10.48pm on July 8.
On all these occasions the fires were extinguished and, said a spokesperson, “there were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”
On Friday they were alerted at 11.27am, 11.59am and 1.31pm to reports of a fire in the open at Fishermans Walk when, the spokesman added, one appliance was mobilised on each occasion.
The spokesperson added: “One crew was mobilised again to the same location at 4.06pm and extinguished a fire. There were no reported casualties. Firefighters left after making the area safe.”
Liberty Durant, of Beech Tree Park Homes, Denny, had applied to Stirling Council early last year for ‘a certificate of lawfulness’ to site 55 static holiday caravans at the Beech Tree Caravan Park/Cornton Caravan Site off Cornton Road.
However, in April 2020 the council turned down the application, pointing out it had not been proved ‘on the balance of probability that the alleged use of the site as a caravan park was subsisting on 13 February 2020 when the application was made’.
They added: ‘As the lawfulness of the existing use has not been satisfied, neither a Certificate of Existing Lawful Use (s150) nor a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Use (s151) can be issued’.
Mr Durant’s real estate advisors in the February application had pointed out that planning permission existed for 11 residential static caravans for 12 months’ occupation, and 44 holiday caravans for seven months’ occupation from March 1 to October 31. They believed this allowed for the change to 55 caravans over 11 months.
A document lodged with the application had stated that existing planning permission for the site ‘is still active and therefore permitted use can be reinstated without applying for further planning permission’.
The Observer contacted Beech Tree Park Homes for comment.
