The row over new homes at an old asylum site in Dumfries

The plans could see hundreds of new homes put on the Ladyfield site

Plans for hundreds of homes on land near a former mental asylum in Dumfries have provoked major opposition.

The Crichton Trust has developed a masterplan for the Ladyfield area which could see 360 properties built.

It said they would "protect the legacy" of the psychiatric hospital by creating a "caring community" on the site.

However, the project has provoked strong opposition from people living in the area who have raised a string of concerns about its impact.

The proposals

The Crichton Trust says the plans could continue the work of Elizabeth Crichton

Gwilym Gibbons, chief executive of the Crichton Trust, said the project was about "preserving the heritage" of Elizabeth Crichton whose generosity funded the pioneering mental health facility which opened on the grounds in 1839.

"As a community, we need to do things differently and this includes the need for new, sustainable models of housing development," he said.

He said that included the provision of homes to support people through all stages of life - what they call a 21st Century multi-generational village.

"Our ambition is for Ladyfield to become a new form of caring community for people and the planet," he said.

Mr Gibbons said the trust had already reduced the number of homes from 470 in the local development plan to 360 and was "very open" to working with the community to find the best outcome for the site.

"This is a housing development design that was led by wellbeing not focused on individual house resale value or short-term thinking," he said.

"We see these homes as the future heritage of our community."

The opposition

Ladyfield sits on the edge of the Crichton Estate

Save Ladyfield represents residents of nearby Kingholm Quay's historic conservation area who are opposed to the development of the site.

Its online petition was backed by more than 750 people and a survey showed the vast majority of people did not want the homes.

"Ladyfield is a wild, green, wooded site with meadows, wetlands, protected wildlife and ancient trees," it said in a statement.

"Residents feel it would be decimated by a large housing development no matter how sympathetically the masterplan suggests its buildings, infrastructure and roads will be."

It said the roads in the area already had "major access issues" which would only be made worse by the scheme.

There are also concerns about limited parking in the development with fears the traffic situation could become dangerous.

"Flooding is also a major concern especially as river levels rise over coming decades as both Kingholm Quay and Glencaple roads flood regularly and leave Kingholm Quay village cut off," the statement added.

The group say their feelings are "not reflected" in the masterplan and want Dumfries and Galloway Council to reconsider its fate as part of a new local development plan.

'Leave it as it is'

David and Debbie Thomson live near Ladyfield

David and Debbie Thomson have lived within a stone's throw of the Ladyfield site for several years.

They said the scale and impact of the project was of huge concern.

"When the original plans came out - I think it was maybe five or six years ago - it was supposed to be an elderly, wellbeing estate kind of thing - less than 200 wee cottages kind of sporadically put about the land," said Debbie.

"It just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

"I just think it should be left as it is, it is greenbelt - it is what it was gifted to the people of Dumfries as."

She said that as well as any traffic and flooding concerns, the couple were worried about the effect building houses would have on nature in the area.

"We just think any impact that they're going to have there is going to have quite a detrimental effect on the wildlife," she added.

'Brilliant ideas'

Dumfries author Karl Drinkwater is also concerned about the project, saying it is a good concept but in a bad location.

"It has the potential to be a good development - but not there, not in a greenfield site" he said.

"Take those brilliant ideas - put them in the town centre and I would be behind it 100% and I would be involved in campaigning for it."

He said he feared the proposals could actually set back attempts to regenerate Dumfries.

"This amazing town - that has seen some hard times in the last few years since it was at its peak as this big market town - people want to see it go back to being a successful big town," he said.

"These kind of developments, they are actually just pulling away from it - they are going in the opposite direction."