Council / Gressy Loan residents ‘not being listened to’ about Knab parking complaints
RESIDENTS living around the former Anderson High School “have not been listened to” by the council about the parking situation in the area, one elected member has said.
The planning committee considered an application to build a temporary car park at the old school site for the phased Knab redevelopment works at its meeting on Wednesday.
A temporary access road and 47 car parking spaces will be built to the rear and west of the Anderson Institute building for a period of five years during the Knab’s major redevelopment.
The council has said it “represents a transitional phase of the overall redevelopment of the Knab site”, allowing access to building housing at the ‘lower terrace’ of the site.
However five residents in Gressy Loan objected to the plans, citing the effect they would have on access and parking at their homes.
They also said the work would have potentially adverse impacts on road and public safety in the area.
And they have said a lack of consideration has been given to the impact it will have on their wellbeing, given the prolonged disruption there will be from construction noise.
Lerwick Community Council joined them in objecting to the plans, which triggered a public hearing for the application.
It said the steep gradient of the road and parked cars already created visibility issues for residents, which would be exacerbated by the increased traffic in the area.
Large construction vehicles working in the area could lead to accidents or dangerous situations for both road users and pedestrians, they said.
Gressy Loan resident Kirsten Scott, speaking on behalf of those that had objected, said they “strongly feel this goes against council policy”.
She questioned why the council, which has spoken often of its difficult financial position, was choosing to put money into this project.
And she called it a “wasteful use of resources”.
The council said it acknowledged the work would “inevitably result in significant changes” for residents, with hopes the disruption would be “minimised as far as possible”.
Councillors at Wednesday’s meeting said their “hands were tied” when it came to approving the application, as it did not go against council policy.
However several of them said they were exasperated by what they said was the council’s failure to take on board comments from nearby residents.
Shetland Central member Davie Sandison said he felt the people around the Knab site were “going to be guinea pig here”.
“I do not believe all their well thought through points have been addressed,” he said.
“We’re still being told to suck it and see effectively.”
Fellow ward member Catherine Hughson asked “when is it going to be enough” for the council to revisit the whole traffic management of the development.
And Mark Robinson, member for Shetland West, said that the Gressy Loan residents “really have not been listened to from the very start”.
“We’re still seeing the same objections,” he said.
“Here we are again – another application, same problems.
“Surely we have to be looking at what the residents are saying.”
Summing up, Sandison pleaded with the project team to “go back and look again” at whether improvements to access to the temporary car park – or around traffic management – could be improved for people living in the area.
He added: “I don’t believe we’ve addressed the concerns of residents effectively.”
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