Proposals for 27 more homes at a growing Aberdeenshire community have been recommended for approval.
Developer behind the Ury Estate site just outside of Stonehaven, the FM Group, is seeking to build 27 properties on land at Blue Lodge on the estate.
A total of 230 houses have been envisaged for the site, and plans are in place to use cash from the properties to help pay for the restoration of the 19th-century Ury House.
The derelict mansion was built in 1885 by Sir Alexander Baird, and was constructed in the Elizabethan style.
However, it has lain derelict for years, and was put on the “high risk” category of the Buildings at Risk register in 1990.
Councillors on the Kincardine and Mearns area committee have now been recommended to approve the plans when they meet next week, in order to assist in the redevelopment of Ury House.
A report by Stephen Archer, director of infrastructure services at Aberdeenshire Council, accepted that the proposal departs from certain planning policies.
But he wrote that officers have still recommended it gets the go-ahead on the grounds that it would contribute to the restoration of the historic property.
Mr Archer said: “It is recommended for approval as a departure on the basis of the planning history, and this presenting a more appropriate way to deliver the full allocation of enabling development for Ury House.”
