Banchory residents see new-look Tor-na-Coille plans
problems still remain says community council chairman who dismisses changes as ‘cosmetic’
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RESIDENTS of a Deeside town headed to one of its most elegant hotels yesterday to view amended plans to divide the property up into private homes.
Cala Management Ltd hopes to create nine apartments at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel at Banchory, with a further 33 flats in two new wings at the site.
The developer originally submitted plans to Aberdeenshire Council in December, but faced opposition from VisitScotland and local residents who feared the loss of the hotel could have a negative impact on the area’s tourism.
Visitors to yesterday’s exhibition had the chance to discuss any aspect of the new proposals with representatives from Cala.
The company’s land manager, David Hodgson, stressed the original “landmark building” would be retained as a central feature of the development.
Banchory Community Council chairman Keith White said after the exhibition that the changes were just cosmetic.
He said: “As far as I understand, they had to change the front of the building and that is the only change that has actually happened. It certainly looks a lot better and a lot more attractive but that is all. It is cosmetic.
“The other problems still remain. It is still going to have traffic problems and people feel it is inappropriate to have that type of building in that location.”
The owner of Tor-na-Coille, Roxanne Sloan-Maris, was involved in a four-year legal wrangle with Banchory Squash Racquet Club relating to the use of courts at the hotel which ended in the club’s liquidation last year.
Yesterday, member Jackie Riches said she did not think anyone from the club would have visited the exhibition and said even if the plans were amended it did not change the likely impact of the hotel conversion on tourism.
