Decision to be made on racing track
Councillors could decide next week whether to allow controversial plans for a trotting track on Bannockburn Battlefield.
Scottish Ministers have already said they will step in if Stirling councillors back a bid to create the harness racing track on part of the Battle of Bannockburn site at Whins of Milton.
The proposals, which come back before Stirling Council’s planning panel on Tuesday, are being recommended for conditional approval by Stirling Council planners subject to a Section 75 legal agreement.
Those behind the plans say it could save their sport from annihilation in Scotland.
But it has split public opinion. Of 99 representations lodged, 34 were objections and 60 were in support.
An online petition at Change.org against the development, set up by the local FK7 Residents’ Group, has reached more than 650 signatories, with a group spokesperson saying this week: “While we understand the needs of the trotting community and golfers who lost their facilities to new housing developments, we urge Stirling Council ‘tae think again.’ Bannockburn Battlefield is a vital recreational space for the community, has the eyes of the worlds visiting tourists upon it, and must be preserved.”
The National Trust for Scotland is calling for the Scottish Government to step in and stop the plans saying it is “deeply concerned” that it would further erode and degrade “this iconic landscape”. But while Historic Environment Scotland had initially raised concerns, after a further assessment they were said to be “broadly content that given the fairly light touch nature and limited visual impact of the proposed infrastructure, it would not have a significant setting impact”.
The application has been lodged by Mr H Muirhead for the formation of the trotting track and erection of an amenity facility to provide toilets, a licensed bar and hot food and drink takeaway on the land, west of New Line Road and south of Fairhill Road.
The application first came before Stirling Council’s planning panel in April, with councillors voting by four votes to two to make a site visit before deciding on the application due to remaining questions about traffic, parking and lighting arrangements.
A notification had been received from the Scottish Government just the day before the meeting saying if panel members were “minded to approve” the application, ministers would intervene and the council would have to pause the granting of the permission for at least 28 days to allow the ministers to further assess the impact on the historic battlefield and listed buildings “of national significance”.
During discussion on the application, members heard that events were likely to take place on the site 20 times a year on Thursday evenings between 7-9pm and on Sundays from 2-5pm, outwith peak traffic times.
However, while roads officials had assessed parking and traffic arrangements, councillors still had some questions over these and also lighting arrangements.
While councillors Neil Benny and Paul Henke had said they were content to make a decision on the application without a site visit, councillors Danny Gibson, Gerry Mcgarvey and Alasdair Tollemache backed a suggestion by panel chair Rachel Nunn that they should see the location for themselves before reaching a conclusion.
Corbiewood Stadium in Bannockburn had been home to the Scottish harness racing community since 1966 but it was demolished in 2022 to make way for a housing development. In documents submitted previously on the new site plans, however, agents for the British Harness Association said: “Be under no illusion. This planning proposal represents the continuation of the sport of harness racing in Scotland.
“Since the loss of Corbiewood...scottish competitors have currently no racing track within the country at which they can compete. This has left the sport in Scotland on its knees. The impact on the vicinity is quite minimal while the implications, benefits and opportunities are huge, locally and nationally.”