Plans to demolish woodland to create homes at a “high quality nature site” in the Cairngorms have been thrown out.
Members of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) met yesterday to debate proposals for seven homes in a stretch of forest in Nethy Bridge.
The application, which included five affordable properties at Lettoch Road on the outskirts of the village, split the committee and was refused by 10 votes to eight.
Planning officials had recommended the project be approved despite concerns about the loss of native woodland at the three-acre stretch of Caledonian pine wood.
But developers cited the longstanding desirability of Nethy Bridge as a place to live and visit, meaning that house prices are high and land for building is expensive.
They said the high cost of housing in the area, and the lack of a supply of new affordable housing, means that it will continue to be increasingly difficult for people working in the region to find housing there.
Gavin Miles, head of planning and communities at the CNPA, argued that the need for more affordable housing “outweighed the arguments against it in terms of biodiversity loss”.
But Speyside Glenlivet councillor, Derek Ross, successfully objected on the grounds that the plans went against park policy and would adversely impact the landscape.
He said he was not persuaded about the argument for affordable housing.
Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group (BSCG) members attended a site visit earlier in the day.
BSCG vice-convener, Roy Turnbull, said: “For too long, woodlands, and other sites important for nature in the Cairngorms National Park have been regarded as a means of making money via development, and planners have not done enough to protect such sites.
“This welcome decision helps to establish the principle that such high quality nature sites should be safe from development.”
BSCG convener Gus Jones added: “Approval would have set an extremely dangerous precedent for damaging development and poor woodland management across the national park.”
Eleanor Mackintosh, CNPA planning committee convener acknowledged it was a difficult decision for members.
She said: “Nethy Bridge is a very desirable place to live and, as such, house prices are high.
“It is important to consider the needs of local people and the vibrancy of the community, balanced with our role and desire to protect the area’s natural heritage.
“For me, I have to give greater weight to the first aim of the park, to protect and enhance the natural and cultural heritage.”
