A BID to turn a former Barratt Homes sales office into a nursery has been rejected by councillors as planning bosses were slammed for a decade of wrangling over the site.

An application had been lodged to transform the building in Mulberry Square, Renfrew, into a nursery with an external play area and community garden.

But, at the latest meeting of Renfrewshire's planning board, elected members voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposal, submitted by David Hamilton, saying it would lead to a loss of green space and increased traffic.

Meanwhile, council leader Iain Nicolson launched a scathing attack on planning chiefs for “10 years of failure” which he claimed led to the application being submitted.

Planning permission was granted for the temporary office building back in 2007 as part of the overall residential development of the area, subject to it being demolished and restored with landscaping by May 2010.

However, the building has remained in place and, according to board documents, the planning department hasn't taken any formal enforcement action over the breach of the demolition condition.

Councillor Nicolson blasted officers for the “sorry saga” and said they should be apologising to residents who expected to be given a green space near their homes.

He added: “In normal circumstances, a nursery is a welcome thing in a community but the circumstances surrounding this application cannot be allowed to just slide past.

“Nowhere have I seen an apology from our planning service about 10 years of failure with regards to this site.

“There was an expectation from everyone who bought houses in that area that there would be a green, open space next to them and, again, there was never an apology coming from the planning service.

“How many other conditions are not being enforced?

“We should have had a full apology as soon as this issue appeared on the agenda, for the people in this area who expected a green open space.

“This is a sorry saga which has appeared in front of us. It’s a failure of the planning system.”

Councillor Stephen Burns moved to reject the nursery proposal, which was backed by 10 votes to five.

Planning officers cited the recession of 2007/08 as the initial reason for no enforcement action being taken, with the building remaining in use after 2010 to sell the final homes in the area.

They have now said they are unable to take formal action as this has to be done within 10 years of the breach of condition.

Documents presented to councillors state: “Planning were given reassurance from the housebuilder that, as soon as the last house was sold, they would comply fully with the condition.

“In 2016/17, planning started to receive enquiries regarding an alternative use of the site. Planning at several points during this time attempted to contact the selling agent, as well as Barratt Homes, to prevent the land from being sold on.

“Despite the planning authority contacting the original applicant and subsequent landowners instructing each party the building was to be demolished, this action was never completed.

“During this period, formal enforcement action could not be initiated as it was legally challenging to ascertain the owner of the land to formally serve an enforcement notice on.

“Formal enforcement action in relation to a breach of a condition requires to be undertaken within 10 years of the breach. The development is therefore immune from enforcement action and there is no legal recourse to have the building removed.”