Kilmacolm Residents' Association

14/10/2026

KILMACOLM MEADOW – WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

You'll have seen the trenches across the meadow. This is archaeological trial trenching, approved under Condition 17, and it was always going to happen first.

But the Council's Report of Handling is clear that an updated ecological survey, including the burn on the eastern edge, must be completed before works commence. The ground has been opened and we haven't seen that survey.

Timing matters. Bat surveys can only be done properly in the summer months, and orchids can only be identified when they're in flower. A survey carried out now, in the autumn, can't tell us what the meadow supports. We are asking the Council to make sure the survey covers the right seasons, so nothing is missed.

28/09/2026

KILMACOLM MEADOW – UPDATE

Today everyone who commented on application 26/0040/IC received the Council's formal letter confirming that the application was granted, subject to conditions, at the Planning Board on 2 September.

It's worth remembering how we got here. This green belt land was opened up for housing because of a claimed shortfall in housing land. In 2022 Scottish Ministers accepted that argument and went on to grant permission in principle, even though their own Reporter had concluded there was ample housing land across our wider housing market area. Everything since has flowed from that decision.

It isn't the outcome we worked for, but it's worth saying what this community achieved. 241 people took the time to object, and 250 comments in total were considered. That is a remarkable response from a village of our size, and every one of those letters is now part of the public record.

It also made a difference. Among the conditions now attached, the developer must carry out an updated ecological survey before any work starts on site, and that survey must include the burn on the eastern edge. That came from residents who looked closely, asked the right questions and kept asking.

So what now? The meadow is still a meadow. Several conditions still have to be satisfied before anything can happen, and each of those will come back through the planning system. We will be following every one of them and will keep you updated here and at kilmacolmmeadow.co.uk.

Thank you to everyone who wrote, walked, photographed, shared and supported. Please keep enjoying the meadow, and keep your eyes open.

26/08/2026

A big step forward for Kilmacolm Meadow

Today, on behalf of the community, KRA formally requested that Scottish Ministers step in and call in the Quarry Drive/Wateryetts Drive planning application for their own determination — rather than leaving it to be decided locally. We’ve also written directly to the Council ahead of the Planning Board meeting on 2 September.

This didn’t happen by chance. 276 representations were submitted on this application — 263 of them objections. That’s the result of hundreds of hours of work by so many of you: objections written, evidence gathered, questions asked, meetings attended. Whatever happens next, that effort has already made sure this application has been scrutinised far more closely than it would otherwise have been.

Thank you to Kilmacolm Civic Trust for their formal objection to the application, and to Kilmacolm Community Council for their support with our environmental correspondence — every voice standing alongside residents on this matters.

The Planning Board meets on Wednesday 2 September at 3pm. We’ll share more soon on how you can follow along or take part.

Thank you, Kilmacolm — for caring about this place, and for showing up for it.

15/07/2026

Update: 26/0040/IC (Quarry Drive/Wateryetts Drive) — Application Reopened for Comment

Just a quick update for anyone following the Quarry Drive planning application.

Inverclyde Council has confirmed that new plans have been added to application 26/0040/IC, and the application has been re-publicised. If you’ve already submitted a representation, the good news is you don’t need to do anything — the Council has confirmed all previous comments remain valid and will still be considered.

If you’d like to add to your previous comments, or make a new representation, you can do so online by searching 26/0040/IC on the Inverclyde Council planning portal. Comments need to be in within 21 days of the notification letter.

A couple of things worth knowing as you read through the application:

The ecological survey the whole application still relies on is from September 2020 — and by its own terms, it expired back in March 2022. No updated ecological survey has been submitted since, even though the Council has confirmed this application is being assessed fresh, under today’s planning rules (NPF4), not the old ones. Since 2020, there’s also now photographic and video evidence of a European eel — a critically endangered species — living in the burn right next to the site, which the old survey never looked at.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on the portal itself — new drawings are still being added even after the notification letter went out, so what you see today may not be everything that’s there next week. Worth a second look before your comment window closes.

One more thing residents have noticed: when Mactaggart & Mickel were bringing forward the original proposals, they made a real effort to engage with the village. Since David Wilson Homes (part of the Barratt Group) took over the application, there’s been little to no direct engagement with the community — and the revised layout looks to us like it’s maximising the size and number of properties on the site rather than reflecting anything discussed with residents.

We think all of this is worth knowing when people are deciding whether to comment.

As always — thank you to everyone who has taken the time to engage with this. It genuinely makes a difference.

Kilmacolm Residents’ Association

29/05/2026

We’re now in a holding pattern, waiting for Inverclyde Council to publish its Report of Handling on planning application 26/0040/IC — the detailed application from Barratt/David Wilson Homes for 78 houses on Kilmacolm Meadow.

When that report appears, it triggers the next phase of our campaign — and we’re ready. Over 250 of you have submitted formal objections. That’s an extraordinary community response, and it matters.

In the meantime, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes — on the ecology, on drainage, on the path that many of you use to reach the cemetery road, and on making sure the Council has a clear, documented record of every concern raised.

One thing you can help with right now: if you’ve used the path across the meadow — to reach the cemetery road, or just as a shortcut through the grass — we’d love to hear from you. How long have you been using it? Leave a comment or drop us a message. It all helps build the picture.

We’ll update you the moment the Report of Handling is published. When that happens, things may move quickly — so watch this space.

Thank you, as ever, for standing with us. 💚

17/05/2026

Today is World Endangered Species Day — and it got us thinking about something on our own doorstep here in Kilmacolm.
Just outside the village lies a grassland site that many of you will know — Kilmacolm Meadow. What you might not know is just how ecologically significant it is.
The 2017 Inverclyde LNCS Assessment identified it as containing genuine relics of unimproved lowland meadow — a habitat that has declined by more than 95% across the UK in the last 60 years. Among the plants recorded there are three orchid species: Greater Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha), Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), and Northern Marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella). The Greater Butterfly-orchid is a Renfrewshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan species, and whorled caraway (Carum verticillatum) — a plant with a very local Scottish distribution — has also been recorded nearby.
The assessment described this site as “one of high potential for the restoration of a flower-rich meadow,” with a reservoir of old grassland indicator species still present in the soil. This isn’t degraded land — it’s a place that, with care, could become even richer in wildlife.
Sadly, it is currently threatened by a planning application for 78 houses.
If you value places like this, we’d love your support. And if you’ve walked the paths across this land over the years, we’d especially welcome you getting in touch.
Find out more at

A website to promote and encourage people to come and use this fantastic meadow here in the village of Kilmacolm for dog walking and nature etc.

16/04/2026

Do you love Kilmacolm Meadow? We’d love to hear from you!

Cast your mind back — how many years have you been taking that lovely walk across our Meadow? Maybe it’s where your dog absolutely insists on going every single morning. Or where your children took their first wobbly steps on a real adventure. Or perhaps it’s just your favourite place to clear your head and breathe in that gorgeous Kilmacolm air.

However you use it — we’d love to hear your story!

Just pop a comment below and tell us:
— How many years you’ve been walking the path from Wateryetts Drive through to the cemetery road
— Whether you go with a dog, children, grandchildren, friends — or just yourself
— What the Meadow means to you and your family

It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 years or 52 — every single memory is precious and every voice matters. This is our community and our Meadow, and your stories make that real.

And please do share this post! You never know whose memories might be unlocked by seeing it — a neighbour, a friend, someone who grew up here and moved away but still holds Kilmacolm in their heart.

Thank you so much — you are all wonderful!

09/04/2026

🌿 Kilmacolm Meadow — Thank You, Kilmacolm! 🌿
We are absolutely blown away by the response from our wonderful community.
Over 250 objections have been formally recorded against the proposed development at Kilmacolm Meadow — and that is a truly remarkable show of solidarity from residents who care deeply about this special place we all call home.
What’s especially encouraging is how many of you took the time to make detailed, thoughtful submissions. Again and again, objectors made clear that this proposal must be thoroughly examined against National Planning Framework 4 — Scotland’s latest planning policy, which puts the protection of nature, green spaces, and sustainable communities at its very heart.
Your voices are on the record. Every objection counts, and together you have sent an unmistakable message to Inverclyde Council that this application deserves the most careful and rigorous scrutiny.
The process continues, and we will keep you updated every step of the way. In the meantime — thank you. Kilmacolm at its very best. 💚

A website to promote and encourage people to come and use this fantastic meadow here in the village of Kilmacolm for dog walking and nature etc.