Service updates

Former Provost honoured at new Plean housing development

The memory of former Stirling Provost Tommy Brookes will live on in a new housing development in his beloved Plean.

First published

13 Oct 2023

A group pic of around a dozen people pictured outside a new house, all smiling at the camera.
Members of the Brookes family joined Cllr Gerry McGarvey and reps from Ogilvie Homes at the new development in Plean.

A total of 19 new homes have been built for social housing following £3.6 million of investment by Stirling Council and the Scottish Government.

The new homes, at the Orchid Park development in the village, are a mix of one and two bedroom flats and two, three and four bedroom semi-detached and terraced houses and have been built by Ogilvie Homes.

They will be situated on Tommy Brookes Way, named in memory of the local politician, who passed away in August 2020 at the age of 80 after serving the former Sauchenford Ward in Plean for many decades.

Investment

Councillor Gerry McGarvey, convener of the Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee, said: “The local community requested the street be named after Tommy and it is entirely fitting.

“Tommy was a real champion for Plean, passionate about the area in which he lived and worked, and we’re delighted his name lives on. The homes at Tommy Brookes Way underline Stirling Council’s commitment to investment in social housing and I believe this would have made Tommy proud.

“They are gold standard for solar panel and battery storage and ‘A’ rated for energy performance. These high quality, affordable houses from Ogilvie Homes meet a range of needs among our tenants and they also support the local economy by creating and sustaining jobs in the construction industry.”

A close up picture of a smiling man, wearing a suit and tie and provost's chain of office.
Former Stirling Provost Tommy Brookes served his community in Plean faithfully over many decades.

Tommy Brookes’ family said: “To see dad honoured in this way means so much to the family because we know how much it would have meant to him. To know his name will live on in the village means so much and we thank all who helped make it happen.”

Dr Robert McWilliam, Chair of Plean’s Voice Community Trust, said: “I first met Tommy in the 2000s when I was invited to join Plean Community Trust and he was Chair. I got to know him over the years and came to regard him as a friend. There was plenty that he and I disagreed about, but we agreed about a lot more.”

Mrs Catherine Ann Robertson, Trustee of Plean’s Voice Community Trust, added: “I knew Tommy most of my life and he was a very kind and thoughtful person, a true Plean man through and through. He loved the village as he loved his family. It is a fitting honour that a village street should be named after him.”

Three adults, the man flanked by two women, look on proudly at a panel next to the front door of a new home that reads: '49 Tommy Brookes Way'.
Alastair Brookes, sisters Natalie Dyer (left) and Carole Roberts are proud and honoured to see a street named after their dad.

John McDade, Managing Director, Ogilvie Homes, said: “We are proud to have worked with Stirling Council to deliver these new homes, which will serve the community for generations to come. They are built to the highest standard, incorporating state of the art sustainable building materials and technology.”