A row over a driveway carved out in Aberdeen’s west end is to be decided by the Scottish Government, while the owner of a city Airbnb is fighting plans for extra student flats across the road from her property.
These and more feature in this week’s Planning Ahead, our regular round-up of the latest proposals being pondered across the north-east.
Every week we bring readers a selection of the most interesting applications submitted to our councils to form changes big and small in our communities.
We start with a trip to the Granite Mile, where an estate agent is planning to give their premises a glow-up…
Law firm wants to enhance Union Street building
Aberdein Considine might be more famous for helping others to find their perfect property, but they’re now planning to give their own residence in Aberdeen city centre some TLC.
The law firm has lodged proposals to spruce up the frontage of its 420-424 Union Street address.
While the building has been occupied by the legal eagles for some time now, it was once home to the Canadian Fur Co in the 1940s and 1950s… Around the same time, number 420 was also used for “demonstrations of wartime cookery”.
Bosses now want to install illuminated blue signage to give it a 21st century look.
Maryculter-based Signsaver has been enlisted to carry out the work.
But when it comes to signage, council planning chiefs can be quite strict…
South Mount Street signage wrangle
Management of the Chinese takeaway on the corner of South Mount Street and Baker Street have drawn the attention of officials after carrying out an unauthorised revamp.
Only now have they submitted a plea for retrospective permission for the work carried out at the Rosemount takeaway.
Architect Neil Rothnie explains that his client was unaware consent would be needed for the changes until a letter arrived from the local authority.
They were in the midst of changing the position of the door to the corner of the building, while putting in new signs.
Mr Rothnie says these changes will simply return the building to its “original arrangement”.
And he defends the use of PVC in the traditional area as there are “countless examples” of it elsewhere nearby.
Laurencekirk nursery rubber-stamped despite Royal Mail objection
A large house in Laurencekirk will be turned into a new nursery for the Mearns town, despite some worries about road safety.
Just Friends Nursery has been given permission to convert The Manse on Aberdeen Road.
If you’re wondering about the name, it’s one of scores of buildings to be sold off by the Church of Scotland in recent years. This five-bedroom bungalow hit the market for £305,000.
Bosses say they need to relocate from their current High Street base as they require a bigger premises.
Documents sent to the council state: “The existing nursery operates out of a former garage building that no longer meets the requirements of the growing business.”
Postman spat as Royal Mail raises objection
Royal Mail, however, flagged some concerns.
They told Aberdeenshire Council that its depot across the road might not be the ideal neighbour for a nursery.
Alan Brown, from the Laurencekirk delivery office, said it had lorries at the roadside from 8am to 9am, along with vans being loaded.
He added: “The increased volume of traffic here at this time would not only be hazardous to drivers but also children, as this is an industrial estate.”
However, planning chiefs didn’t share the same concerns, as the house “is set back from the road by a significant distance”.
Rural neighbour dreads noise from new turbine…
Over on the outskirts of Huntly, plans for a towering wind turbine have been approved – despite fears over the noise it could create.
Constantine Wind Energy (CWE) have been given the green light to erect a 328ft turbine just to the north of the town.
That would make it about as tall as St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
It would replace an “ageing” turbine measuring about 170ft currently at the Kinnoir spot.
Renewables bosses say the new structure will generate enough energy to power more than 330 homes.
Plans reveal the new model will be able to create more power thanks to “advancing technology”.
Not everyone is convinced by the idea of it being almost twice the size of its predecessor…
‘Wind turbine will ruin village’s view’
Farmer Ian Stewart was one dismayed local who wrote to the council to voice his anger at the plans.
He said that the view from his village, Rothiemay, could be spoiled – with up to “75 metres” of the turbine serving as the backdrop to the quaint community.
Mr Stewart also argued the noise from a new structure would “exacerbate” the current racket created by the power line upgrades ongoing in the area.
Despite this, planning bosses were happy with the noise assessment which fell within the guidelines, so approved the proposals for CWE.
Would one like to have the Royals as neighbours?
All the way down to Royal Deeside next, where plans for a new house at the Invercauld Estate are ramping up.
The historic land has been home to the Farquharson family since the early 1500s, and covers almost 95,000 acres of the Cairngorms National Park.
And it’s the Farquharsons who are looking to build an impressive four-bed abode on the site.
Drawings submitted to the council reveal the new build would be just a stone’s throw away from Balmoral Castle, and it would come with stunning views of the Lochnagar Mountain.
About a year ago, the Invercauld Estate had plans for a new home rejected over concerns it would disturb a nest of adders – and send them slithering into nearby homes for shelter.Â
Airbnb owner opposes Aberdeen student flats plan
Plans for new student accommodation have encountered the anger of a local Airbnb owner in Aberdeen.
London-based firm OrkaCap (Project Granite) have submitted proposals to the local authority which would see a 10-room extension built at one of their city centre properties.
ABeleven, on Willowbank Road, is a popular apartment block for students in Aberdeen – which is why OrkaCap are looking to expand the site.
Drawings show how the current canopy would be filled in with these 10 new studio apartments, maximising the number of tenants for the firm.
But not everyone in the neighbourhood is on board with the plans…
Why is local Airbnb owner up in arms over student flat idea?
Jennifer Morrison owns a short-term let right next to where the planned extension would be built.
And she has now written to the council expressing her fears that the proposed works would be “extremely disruptive”, just as the original construction of the student flats was.
Mrs Morrison lamented: “To start this build up again is very upsetting. I question why
the extra units were not erected in 2018/2019 when the accommodation was first built.
“The noise and fumes from lorries, diggers, rock-hammers etc was very hard to endure.”
She also stated that this construction could lead to her Airbnb receiving bad reviews from her guests – as a result of the din coming from the works happening just behind her wall…
Row over driveway in Aberdeen’s west end goes to Holyrood
The row over a driveway in Aberdeen’s west end has gone right to the top.
Kate Bylinski’s 27 Cromwell Road address was bought for £317,000 about two years ago.
It was in August 2023 that she put in plans to pave over the space outside the front door.
Here is how it looked before:
Papers sent to the council explain it was needed as the family own an electric car, and it needs to be charged using equipment at the house.
A raspberry bush at the back means it couldn’t go there, the applicant added.
Was anyone against the idea?
The Aberdeen Civic Society wrote to the council demanding the proposal be scrapped.
They said removing a section of the wall to form the parking space would “introduce an unfortunate precedent to a terrace of traditional houses”.
Meanwhile, Burns Road resident Dillon Goonan said parking was already “at a premium in the area”, and this proposal “is only going to make it far worse”.
Next door neighbour Greg Herra expressed similar concerns, arguing the driveway would wipe out badly needed parking spaces for others.
So what happened then?
By the end of 2023, the council had refused permission for the driveway.
Planning chiefs objected to the destruction of the granite wall as it would “fragment a unifying historic boundary feature” of the street.
They also decided that a driveway would “not accord” with the usual means of parking along Cromwell Road.
This would not be the end of Aberdeen City Council’s west end driveway row though. Weeks later, an appeal was lodged.
Why did owner appeal?
The homeowner countered that her proposal was “in keeping with the granite heritage of the neighbourhood”, as only a “strictly necessary” section of the wall would be taken down.
It was stressed that, as the family’s car is electric, the driveway is “much-needed” as it requires a charging plug and cable.
And the appeal statement added: “There are identical or similar car parking arrangements in the front of numerous properties on the same street.”
In a swipe at neighbours, she said the complaints from Mr Herra and Mr Goonan were “based purely on the self-interest of the objectors’ own parking situation”.
So what did the council decide this time?
The review panel voted unanimously to reverse their officials’ decision – on the condition that the granite wall would not be removed until suitable plans to reuse the material had been drawn up.
The felled sections have been turned into benches in the back garden now.
So all’s well that ends well, right?
So what was the problem then?
Well, this is where the wrangle takes another turn. It turned out the homeowner carried out the work in a way the council doesn’t agree with.
An enforcement letter states that the completed work was not as shown in the architect drawings submitted to the authority, and was therefore “unauthorised”.
While design drawings showed a more modest driveway, the actual work left much of the front of the house paved over.
And what is happening now?
The row over the west end driveway in Aberdeen is now being scrutinised by the Scottish Government.
If they side with the homeowner, it will mean the changes can remain as they are.
She insists any deviation from the original plan was “minor”, and blasts a “draconian use of regulatory power” in a letter to Holyrood planning bigwigs.
Local councillor John Cooke has written to the Edinburgh-based decision-makers too, branding the council’s enforcement action “excessive”.
He adds: “The address is not a listed building, nor is it in a conservation area.
“In terms of the driveways, the works that have been undertaken are such that they are little different, if at all, from some other driveways on the street.”
The government has appointed an official charged with settling the issue.
What do you think of the wrangle? Let us know in our comments section below
St Machar Bar plans APPROVED
Finally, we toast freshly approved whisky tasting plans at Aberdeen’s St Machar Bar – which come as the venue enjoys a major boost from a fresh influx of tourists.
Pub bosses at the Old Aberdeen venue had previously submitted plans for an upstairs expansion to allow visitors to get a taste of Scotland’s national drink.
And council planners have now rubber stamped the proposals – which will allow the St Machar Bar to capitalise on the city’s recent tourism boom.
An upstairs flat will be transformed under the proposals.
Close to 70 cruise ships are pencilled in to visit the Granite City this summer – all looking to get an authentic experience of Scotland.
And what’s more Scottish than whisky?
In previous years, tourists have fallen in love with the architecture and quaint feel of Old Aberdeen.
With the scenic setting now a stop on the Aberdeen Adventurer open-top tour bus route, there could soon be even more people taking in its delights – with a dram.
You can see this week’s plans here:
Concerns raised over new Rosemount signs
Royal Deeside house
Aberdeen Airbnb owner battling student flats
Row over driveway plan in Aberdeen’s west end
Conversation