Plans have been approved to build a house on a vacant land near a former Cumnock school.
An application was lodged with East Ayrshire Council in December for a four-bedroom home to be built on the derelict site on Barrhill Road, across from the former Greenmill Primary School.
The land was listed for sale on Rightmove back in November 2022, with it being marketed as having "huge possibilities".
Now, planners have been given the green light to create new home as well as a two-car garage.
A new junction will be created for the site at its junction with Barrhill Road, as well as a new boundary wall which will match the existing wall, and a new entry gate.
An application for 'planning permission in in principle' was submitted and approved in January 2023 for the site, and now the detailed application for the site has been approved too.
The applicant, according to documents lodged with EAC, is Dale Taylor, of Weston Avenue, Ayr, with Scott Wham of Wham Architecture, also in Ayr, acting as Mr Taylor's agens.
READ MORE: Plans lodged to convert former Cumnock church building
A planning statement lodged by Wham Architecture alongside the formal application states: "The proposed dwelling is sited within an existing brownfield plot wholly owned by our client.
"The site is currently accessed from the Barrhill Road (A70) and improved vehicular access (including a new bellmouth junction with visibility splays) would be formed as part of the proposals in order to meet current access requirements.
"The site sits within an urban setting, being located between a low-density housing estate to the west and two non-domestic buildings to the east.
"Despite this, the site is visually obscured from the neighbouring dwellings and the main road via tree lined boundaries."
The plans were approved by councillors earlier this week.
A report on the application prepared by EAC officials states: "The dwelling is considered to be sited and designed in an appropriate manner for the site, and there are no issues raised relating to residential amenity such as overlooking or overshadowing.
"The application site contains close to 30 trees and forms part of a corridor of woodland that stretches along the Lugar Water, and several trees are proposed to be removed as part of the development.
"However, enough trees will be retained that this is not considered to have an unacceptably negative impact on biodiversity, and sufficient enhancement measures are proposed."
No public comments were received by EAC for or against the application, and neither Scottish Water nor the Ayrshire Roads Alliance raised any concerns.
As previously reported by the Chronicle, the former school building across the street from the development site is set to be demolished after EAC failed to find a buyer for the property in its current state.
Originally home to Cumnock Academy, the building was then used by Greenmill Primary until the school merged with Barshare Primary in 2020 and moved to the new Barony Campus, becoming Lochnorris Primary.
The Barrhill Road building then served as a temporary home for Netherthird Primary School after problems were discovered with the old Netherthird building's ceilings.
But the building has lain empty since Netherthird's pupils and staff moved into their new home on Craigens Road in February 2023, and has been repeatedly targeted by vandals.
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