East Renfrewshire councillors have turned down an application to build 25 social rent homes on Springhill Road in Barrhead, overruling planning officers who had recommended approval and citing concerns about parking, play space, noise and overall scale.
Committee rejects scheme despite housing emergency
At a meeting of the planning applications committee last week members voted against the joint bid by Wilson Developments and Barrhead Housing Association to redevelop the site currently occupied by Springhill House, which is due to be demolished. The proposal would have provided a mix of flats and maisonettes in one four-storey block and three two-storey blocks.
Planning officers said the scheme would contribute to efforts to tackle the housing emergency declared by East Renfrewshire Council. Yet councillors raised objections related to road safety, increased noise from nearby traffic, the loss of privacy for neighbours and what they described as overdevelopment of a restricted site.
"I don’t think any of us are in denial that we do need more housing across all tenures. But that isn’t a licence to try and shoehorn inappropriate development into any old space that we can find."
The comment, made by Cllr Andrew Morrison (Conservative), framed the committee’s concerns that the site is too small to accommodate the scale of development proposed. Councillors also highlighted an absence of sufficient parking provision and a lack of dedicated play space for children as key planning reasons for refusal.
- Proposed homes: 25 units
- Layout: one four-storey block of 15 flats; three two-storey blocks (one with 4 flats; two with 3 flats)
- Previous permission: planning approval for 13 homes remains in place for the site
The planning history is relevant: permission for 13 homes on the site had been granted previously and that consent remains live. Councillors said that, set against the council’s emerging local development plan — which officials say will provide for 3,000 units of housing across East Renfrewshire between 2027 and 2037 — an increase of a dozen homes on this parcel of land was not decisive in addressing the wider housing shortfall.
Local impact and wider context
The decision will have immediate implications for the applicant housing association and for people on waiting lists for social rent properties in Barrhead. East Renfrewshire declared a housing emergency in 2024 amid rising homelessness; council officers argued the Springhill Road scheme would help to respond to that pressure.
But the committee’s refusal underlines the tension local politicians face when balancing the urgent need for affordable homes with place-making standards, environmental and amenity concerns, and road safety. Members signalled that meeting housing targets cannot come at the expense of local design standards or community wellbeing.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total homes proposed | 25 |
| Approved previously | 13 homes (existing permission remains) |
| Main reasons for refusal | Parking, play space, noise, scale/overdevelopment |
Councillors also drew attention to the sensitivities of developing within established residential areas and the need for adequate spaces for children and vehicle parking. The committee’s decision suggests councillors favoured a more cautious approach on this site rather than approving a higher-density scheme that officers believed could be accommodated.
For Barrhead residents the outcome raises questions about where and how the council will deliver additional social housing — particularly given that other council-owned sites in the town have been identified for potential disposal and development, and that local housing associations remain active in seeking opportunities to increase supply.
The developers and Barrhead Housing Association may consider whether to revise their plans to address the committee’s concerns or to pursue the existing consent for 13 homes. Either route will be watched closely by campaigners for more social homes and by neighbours concerned about the character of their area.
The refusal illustrates the difficult trade-offs the council faces as it seeks to reconcile a declared housing emergency with planning standards and community expectations across East Renfrewshire.
