260826 Planning Minute
North Ayrshire Council · 23 September 2026
Back to Planning Committee — 23 September 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Planning Committee 26 August 2026 At a Meeting of the Planning Committee of North Ayrshire Council at 2.00 p.m. involving a combination of participation by remote electronic means and physical attendance within the Council Chambers, Irvine. Present (Physical Participation) Robert Foster, Cameron Inglis, Scott Davidson, Stewart Ferguson and Ronnie Stalker. Present (Remote Participation) Margaret Johnson, Davina McTiernan, Jim Montgomerie and Ian Murdoch. In Attendance A. Finlayson, Chief Planning Officer (Communities and Housing); R. Lynch, Senior Manager; C. Leslie, Solicitor (Legal); C. Stewart, Committee Services Officer; and E. Reid, Marketing & Digital Assistant (Communications) (Democratic Services) (Corporate Services). Chair Councillor Foster in the Chair. Apologies Amanda Kerr and Ian Murdoch. 1. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest by Members in terms of Standing Order 11 and Section 5 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. 2. Minutes The Minutes of the Meeting held on 22 April 2026 were confirmed and signed in accordance with Paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. 3. 26/00363/PP : Trearne Quarry, Gateside, Beith Submitted a report by the Chief Planning Officer seeking variation of condition 1 of planning permission N/23/00190/PP to extend quarrying operations until 24th May 2029 at Trearne Quarry, Gateside, Beith. The Committee noted that no deputation requests were received in respect of this application. Following a motion by Councillor Foster, seconded by Councillor Stalker, the Committee unanimously agreed to approve planning permission subject to the following conditions: 1. That all quarrying operations at the site shall be discontinued within 3 years of 24th May 2026 (i.e. 24th May 2029) and the entire site shall be restored within
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a further 2 years (i.e. 24th May 2031) in accordance with the approved restoration scheme (as required under the periodic review of minerals consent 15/00573/DCMS) and to the satisfaction of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. 2. That only the continuation of quarrying and the importation of soil forming materials to create a soils growing medium for the purposes of site restoration is hereby permitted. For the avoidance of doubt, imported soil forming materials shall not include human waste nor treated sewage sludge. 3. That the site shall be restored on a progressive basis in accordance with the approved restoration plan (OG104/ROMP/PA/F/09) to the satisfaction of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. 4. That upon completion of the restoration scheme, a programme of aftercare to ensure successful establishment of new vegetation shall be undertaken. Any areas of vegetation which fail to become established within 2 years of the completion of the restoration scheme shall be reinstated to the satisfaction of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. 5. With the exception of water management, the site shall not operate outwith the hours stated below without the prior written approval of North Ayrshire Council, as Planning Authority: Quarry Protection and Processing 07.00hrs to 19.00hrs (Monday to Friday only) Plant Maintenance 07.00hrs to 19.00hrs (Monday to Friday) 07.00hrs to 12.00hrs (Saturday) Site Restoration 07.00hrs to 19.00hrs (Monday to Friday) 07.00hrs to 14.00hrs (Saturday) Road Haulage 07.00hrs to 19.00hrs (Monday to Friday) 07.00hrs to 14.00hrs (Saturday) 6. That with respect to the control of noise resulting from the quarrying and restoration operations, the site operator shall comply with the following: During the hours of operation (07.00hrs to 19.00hrs Monday to Friday (inclusive) and 07.00hrs to 14.00hrs on Saturdays) the nominal noise limit from site operations including the manufacture and spreading of soils, at all assessed noise sensitive premises in the vicinity of the site, shall not exceed 50dB(A)LAeq, over any hour period. 7. Notwithstanding the terms of condition 6, that during soil stripping operations the normal daytime noise limit during the hours of operation shall be no more than 70dBLAeq over any one hour period for a maximum of 8 weeks per year
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or for such time period to be agreed in writing with North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. 8. That effective silencers shall be fitted to and used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer's instructions on all vehicles, plant and machinery operating on site. Other for the purposes of maintenance, no machinery shall be operated with covers open or removed, all to the satisfaction of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. 9. The site operator shall ensure that sufficient water is maintained on site at all times to address the requirements of dust suppression. Water bowsers will be maintained on site and used to spray roads within the site. Notwithstanding such measures, in the event of dust nuisances being created, the operator(s) shall take all responsible remedial measures to minimise the transmission of dust (as stated in Section 5.0 of the Support Statement contained in 15/00573/DCMS), to the satisfaction of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. If the prevention of dust nuisance by these means is not possible, then the activities which are, in the opinion of the Council as Planning Authority, creating the nuisance shall temporarily cease until such times as weather/conditions allow. 10. That no blasting shall take place within the quarry under the terms of this planning permission. 11. That all laden vehicles entering or departing the site shall be sheeted before accessing the public road network. 12. The site operator shall at all times be responsible for the removal of any mud or other deleterious materials deposited on the public road network as a result of the operations at Trearne Quarry. 13. That all suitable topsoils, sub-soils and soil forming materials shall be recovered where practicable during the stripping or excavation operations and separately stored on site for use during restoration. 14. That topsoil and subsoil either recovered and/or manufactured on site shall be replaced when it is suitably dry or friable condition such that it is not damaged by machinery passing over it except with the prior written approval of North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority. In addition, the movement of plant, vehicles and machinery on the site shall be carried out in such a manner so as to avoid, so far as possible, the crossing of restored land. 15. All soils material deposited on site shall be seeded with a suitable low maintenance native grass and wildflower seed mixture during the first available growing season. 16. The deposition of manufactured soils shall be restricted to 10 metres from existing quarry faces to leave exposed rock strata containing palaeontology (as stated in section 11.0 of the Support Statement for 15/00573/DCMS), to maintain continued access for educational purposes. 17. That with respect to bodies of water and watercourses within the site:
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i. no materials shall be worked or deposited in such a way that they may fall or be carried into any body of water/watercourses; ii. the deposition of manufactured soils shall be restricted to 10 metres from any body of water/watercourses. iii. only soil materials recovered on site or soils imported to the site may be placed within 10m of any body of water/watercourses. 18. That prior to quarrying operations and ground preparation works advancing to within 50 metres of any known barn owl nest site during the enhanced statutory bird breeding protection period between April and October a pre- start check must be carried out for this species by a suitably qualified person in accordance with the recommendation made in the Protected Species Survey accompanying application refs. 15/00573/DCMS and 23/00190/PP. 19. That prior to any ground preparation works being carried out during April - July, a walkover check shall be carried out for evidence of breeding birds or dependent young and works suspended during this period as appropriate within a distance of 50 metres from the nest location. 20. That prior to future quarrying operations advancing to within 30 metres of any trees (T5-T17) identified in the Protected Species Survey, (refer to section 7.0 of the Support Statement in application 15/00573/DCMS), two dusk and one pre-dawn bat roost survey shall be completed between June and August to determine the presence of any bat roost. In the event that a roost is found, any quarrying works within 30 metres and any works with a significant vibration or noise impact within 100 metres may require licencing following consultation with the NatureScot Species Licensing Team. 4. 26/00299/PP : 13 Ashgrove Workshops, Ashgrove Road, Kilwinning Submitted a report by the Chief Planning Officer seeking change of use of industrial unit to gymnasium (Class 11) (retrospective) at 13 Ashgrove Workshops, Ashgrove Road, Kilwinning. The Committee noted that no deputation requests were received in respect of this application. Officers responded to Members’ questions on various aspects of the report and the Committee unanimously agreed to approve planning permission with no conditions. 5. 26/00398/PP : 124 High Street, Irvine, KA12 8AH Submitted a report by the Chief Planning Officer seeking change of use from vacant Class 1A unit to betting shop to include external alterations at 124 High Street, Irvine, KA12 8AH. The Committee noted that no deputation requests were received in respect of this application.
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Officers responded to a Member’s question and Councillor Foster, seconded by Councillor Davidson, proposed a motion to approve planning permission with no conditions. As an amendment, Councillor Inglis, seconded by Councillor Stalker, proposed refusal of planning permission for the following reason: 1. The proposed change of use would be contrary to Policy 27 of National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 which states that ‘development proposals for non-retail uses will not be supported if further provision of these services will undermine the character and amenity of the area or the health and wellbeing of communities, particularly in disadvantaged areas. These uses include: i. Hot food takeaways, including permanently sited vans; ii. Betting offices; and iii. High interest money lending premises’. In this case, it is considered that the proposed betting office would undermine the health and wellbeing of the community arising from an over concentration of such uses within Irvine Town Centre. In terms of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020, six of Irvine’s data zones rank within the 5% most deprived in Scotland, and 24 fall within the 20% most deprived, placing large numbers of the Irvine community at a disadvantage relative to Scotland as a whole. On a division and a roll call vote, there voted for the amendment Councillors Inglis, Ferguson, Johnson, McTiernan and Stalker and for the motion, Councillors Foster, Davidson and Montgomerie. The amendment was declared carried. 6. Urgent Items There were no urgent items. The meeting ended at 2.45 p.m. The full meeting proceedings can be viewed at https://north-ayrshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home