Welcome to our weekly round-up of the latest planning applications lodged across the north-east.
It’s the time of year when beer gardens become more and more appealing, the perfect chance to make the most of some rare sunshine while enjoying a refreshment or two.
This week, we feature plans to keep the bar outside Union Square in Aberdeen for the future – and to open a new one outside the trendy Barbelow on Golden Square.
Elsewhere, there is a poignant tribute in the works for Royal Deeside legend Captain Alwyne Farquharson, with plans for his own memorial cairn.
Package of upgrades for Huntly’s Royal Mail building
First, plans to upgrade the Royal Mail’s B-listed headquarters in Huntly have been signed and sealed.
And works about to be delivered will include relocating a customer service point and packet store to the redundant Post Office that closed seven years ago.
That front section, facing onto The Square, shut in 2015 with services moving to McColls.
The toilets there will be improved too, and the lift will be upgraded so it’s “fit for purpose”.
The building dates back to the 1930s, and these works will secure its future for decades to come.
Great Western Road hostel could become home
Meanwhile, a former Aberdeen youth hostel could be turned into a new home.
The 318 Great Western Road property was also previously used by the VSA mental health charity for its St Aubins Project, which has since relocated to Westerton Crescent.
Mariner Hotel villa to have new lease of life
And just a few yards away, a granite villa attached to the former Mariner Hotel will now also be turned into a home.
Since closing the venue in 2020, the owners have been given permission to proceed with plans to turn the main building into nine flats.
Now, the council has approved plans to turn the property next door, previously used as part of the hotel, into a four-bedroom home.
It currently has eight bedrooms across the ground and first floors, but now the ground floor space will be converted into a lounge, kitchen, garden room and guest bedroom.
Following complaints about road safety, the council rejected proposals to create a new driveway. Instead, residents can use the former hotel’s car park.
Laurencekirk steadings to be flattened for large family homes
Meanwhile, derelict steadings outside Laurencekirk could be demolished and replaced with three new homes
Plans lodged by Dundee-based Charles Milne, of Brigton Developments Ltd, show how the old Brigton steadings could be flattened to make way for the scheme.
Two of the homes would have five bedrooms alongside a spacious dining area and living room, while another would have four bedrooms.
Plans to breathe new life into 200-year-old lodge
Owner Adrian Walden has submitted plans for the C-listed East Lodge on the Keithhall Estate outside Inverurie.
The Donside expanse was bought by the 1st Earl of Kintore in 1663 and, though it has changed over the years, the majority remains under the current, 14th, Earl’s ownership.
The A-listed main house was converted into 14 flats in the 1980s, but architects say the area still has “high historical significance”.
The single-storey East Lodge was built in 1806, and is one of three at the gates of the estate.
In February 2020 it was deemed “structurally unstable”, and in need of “substantial works to allow human habitation”.
Mr Walden aims to restore it – turning it into a three-bedroom home with an open kitchen and living space.
Union Square bar could keep serving for years to come
Good news for anyone who has been enjoying the beer garden at Union Square in Aberdeen.
Initially installed only for the festive period, it has become something of a permanent feature outside the shopping centre in recent years.
Documents sent to the council by owners Codona’s seek permission to operate the bar “on a seasonal basis” in “future years”.
Peterculter pub to divide drinkers from the street
Peterculter’s Old Bank Bar also set up an outdoor drinking area in a bid to survive Covid restrictions on indoor hospitality.
Earlier this year, bosses sought permission to keep it in place for another year.
And now, to offer punters a bit more privacy, they are asking to erect some screening to divide it from North Deeside Road and the busy A93 stretch through the suburb.
Scroll back and forth to see the difference:
Barbelow beer garden to open
Aberdeen City Council has granted permission for a new beer garden to open around the back of Golden Square’s Barbelow, and for extra seating out the front.
Barbelow has become a popular attraction since its opening earlier this year.
It is operated by Emily Hailstones and her partner, Hayley Fisher, who run the Olive Alexanders deli and bistro above.
Under the plans, four large picnic benches will be put out the back along with two tables for two and a pair for four.
They plan to brighten up the spot with a canopy and various planters.
The roof should also limit any noise pollution, a concern raised by the Aberdeen Civic Society.
In the outdoor area at the front, there would be four tables for two.
Curious about Barbelow? Watch our food and drink team’s video here:
Rejigged Tim Horton’s plans
Developers have re-submitted plans for a new Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s in Aberdeen.
But since then issues have emerged, with site levels needing to be changed to protect Scottish Water pipes.
To overcome this, revised drawings have been tendered showing plans to build “above the level of the approved scheme”.
Decade-long wrangle over Macduff flats
Businesswoman Elaine Duthie has been determined to knock down her former laundrette and adjoining derelict house on the corner of Macduff’s Market Street and Skene Street for a decade.
The former owner of The Steamie dry cleaners, which closed in 2011, first lodged plans for flats there in 2012.
The scheme was rejected by the council and the Scottish Government and has undergone many ups and downs since.
Eventually, plans for a reduced 12-flat complex were approved, though no work has started.
A refreshed proposal for the original total of 15 was then thrown out last June.
The council deemed it would “have a negative impact on the character of the vicinity” and would adversely impact other residents.
Concerns were also raised about car parking and a “significant impact on road safety”.
Despite being so roundly rejected, the businesswoman recently argued that the decision was “unjustified”, citing the previous permission for 12 flats on the same site.
But Aberdeenshire Council has taken the unusual step of refusing to even consider the latest application, having already knocked it back.
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid said it was “clear that it could present a public health hazard” and urged Aberdeenshire Council to consider “enforcement action”.
Plans lodged for huge new Braemar dream home
Owner Guy Jeynes-Ellis has formed plans to replace Roy Cottage, on Kindrochit Drive in Braemar, with a luxuriously large replacement.
Papers submitted by Ian Rodger Architects say the current property, sold for £155,000 in December, is “in desperate need of extensive repair having been neglected for a long time”.
Blueprints indicate the new home would have a hall/gallery on the first floor along with a study and a big master bedroom.
These design images show how the new home would look:
Alwyne Farquharson memorial cairn
Just outside the Royal Deeside village, plans are in motion to celebrate one of its most famous sons.
The Invercauld Estate wants to use local granite to build a memorial cairn along tracks near his Invercauld House home.
The spot has been chosen as it was one of his “favourite places for contemplation”.
Cpt Farquharson’s family connection to the estate dates back to the 1500s.
He inherited it in the 1940s and carefully looked after the land until handing it to two trusts in the 1990s.
He frequently visited the small timber fog house (a cabin found in many country estates, with the “fog” name coming from the Scots word for moss) near his home.
The cairn would be built next to it, with a brass plaque denoting it as “Alwyne’s Cairn”.
It would state: “This Cairn commemorates the life of Captain Alwyne Compton Farquharson of Invercauld, MC.”
What do you think of this week’s proposals? Let us know in our comments section below!
Former TV base on Crown Street to become home
And finally, we look at more plans to provide extra housing in the heart of Aberdeen.
This time, at the former home of the Tern TV production company on Crown Street – the makers of shows like Great British Car Journeys, Beechgrove and Being Gail Porter.
Such programmes as the Aberdeen-based The Children’s Hospital and The Harbour have also been devised there.
It’s understood the small team have been working from home since the pandemic struck.
Plans show how offices will make way for four bedrooms on the first floor, with a lounge and kitchen on the ground floor and a lounge and study in the basement.
The proposal put forward by Banchory-based Steven Easton has now been approved by the council.
You can see the plans for yourself using these links:
Alwyne Farquharson memorial cairn
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