The Scottish Government has knocked back an appeal to build a home in a north-east village.
Old Deer firm Baxter Design had taken its fight to win planning permission for a single house at Stuartfield, near Peterhead, to the Scottish Government after councillors blocked its plans last year.
But the firm, which was representing local man Geordie Burnett Stuart, has now been told the authority’s Buchan area committee was justified in making its decision.
Councillors had been concerned that the home, on the edge of the village, would create a precedent for applications on “protected ground”.
The site at Stuartfield, at Quartale House, had been given “protected” status in the local development plan in order to conserve the setting of the village.
It is the first thing visitors to the community see when driving into Stuartfield.
At the time of the application, Ryan Urquhart, a planner for Baxter Design, had suggested to councillors that the home would not affect this.
“Approval of a single house site would have minimal, if any, impact on the views and would fit in well with the pattern of development in the area,” he said.
The Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division (DPEA) has, however, disagreed.
Trudi Craggs, a reporter for the DPEA, visited Stuartfield before making her decision on the application.
In her report, she said: “I consider that the loss of open space would be significant given the site’s immediate proximity to the settlement boundary and its important contribution to the setting of the village.
“I therefore conclude that the proposal would have an adverse impact on the overall quality and composition of the landscape character and would not comply with this supplementary guidance.”
The appeal’s collapse means that Baxter Design cannot progress with plans to build the home at the site.
