Defence Online

A Property developer has plans to transform Shanks Park in Barrhead into a major housing development.Cruden Estates hopes to turn the derelict space – which has lain unused for more than two decades since the famous factory shut down – into a large-scale residential area.The Glasgow contractors have submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to East Renfrewshire Council’s Environment department in a bid to acquire planning permission in principle for what is described as a “major residential development” at the site.The proposal to build homes on the plot of land, which lies close to Blackbyres Farm and Blackbyres Road, comes 25 years after the Shanks and Co sanitaryware company closed its doors for the final time.A PAN is the first step developers must go through in pre-application consultation procedures with planning authorities and must be submitted at least 12 weeks before a planning application can be made.Shanks not only provided employment for hundreds of Barrhead residents, it also had a significant part to play in the shaping of the town’s social and economic life.Founded in the middle of the 19th century by John Shanks, the company went on to enjoy worldwide success and became a thriving sanitaryware business that established itself at the forefront of innovation and design.