Welcome to Planning Ahead – our weekly round-up of the latest proposals lodged across the north-east.
Our final instalment before Christmas comes at a time when we’ve been enduring some freezing temperatures.
Residents in Royal Deeside have felt the chill more than most, with the mercury dropping to a teeth-chattering -17C.
And this week we detail how the owner of the region’s Cambus O’ May hotel is doing his best to heat the venue (without going broke in the process).
We can also reveal major plans to secure the future of Stonehaven’s cherished open-air swimming pool.
For fans, it feels like Christmas each summer when it reopens, and the repair project should keep the attraction afloat for years to come.
New west end homes in Aberdeen
Firstly, plans to turn old offices on Aberdeen’s Victoria Street into new homes have been approved.
The former base of the Hampton creative agency was marketed as office accommodation unsuccessfully for some time.
Neil Scullion recently lodged proposals to transform the old boardrooms into bedrooms, splitting it into two homes across the three floors.
And Aberdeen City Council has now rubber-stamped the changes to the C-listed building, which dates back to 1850.
Officers say the change will “support the long-term use” of the previously unwanted premises.
These images show how each floor of the office building will be converted:
Albert Street solar panels
In neighbouring Albert Street, meanwhile, property firm Winchesters Lettings is putting up a “solar canopy” in its car park.
The 30 panels will be erected at the rear, over a new bin store, and will mean a slight reduction in parking spaces.
Nosheen Tandoori take-away plans
Nosheen has become an Ellon institution over the years, as much a hit with revellers as curry fans… After the tables and chairs have been removed to form a makeshift dancefloor, that is.
Now, the owners of the Bridge Street venue want to expand its offering even further by turning the waiting area into a separate take-away.
The existing entrance would be for take-away customers only, while a new one would be formed for those sitting in.
Internal works would include getting rid of the bar in the waiting area, and building a new kitchen.
It would have no impact on the Bridge Bar next door.
Demolition at oil base following job losses
Demolition work is underway at the Dril-Quip offices in Dyce following controversial redundancies there last year.
Cranes have been used to reduce parts of the Stoneywood Park building to rubble as the owners reconfigure the site.
And as Covid impacted on work there, with losses of almost £50 million in 2020, about 130 jobs were lost in the following year or so.
Following the clearout, the company is now tearing down a three-storey office block adjoining two warehouses at the complex – having secured permission from the council.
There will also be “minor alterations” to the attached workshop.
Due to the proximity of Aberdeen International Airport, special care will be taken when using cranes.
Permission must be sought from the airport manager, and the crane can’t be too tall.
Watch the footage of bosses’ controversial comments on the Aberdeen workforce:
Guesthouse could be knocked down too
Nearby another, smaller scale, demolition scheme is in the works as a former guesthouse could be flattened.
A Mr C Forbes, from Newmachar, wants to knock down the property at 215 Stoneywood Road to make way for two new semi-detached houses.
The proposed two-storey homes would each have three bedrooms.
Extension row at home that was part of historic Aberdeen school
National heritage chiefs – and a band of angry neighbours – have rounded on an Aberdeen man’s renovation ambitions.
Ryan Goldie lodged plans to add a new two-storey block to the side of his 40 Woodstock Road property, along with an extension housing a new dining room at the rear.
It comes after the four-bedroom house was bought for £265,000 last August.
The side extension would have featured two studies on the ground floor and a pair of bedrooms upstairs, replacing the parking space at the side.
The semi-detached home was built for staff at the former Oakbank School, which opened nearby in 1879 and was turned into housing following its closure in 2008.
And neighbours were quick to complain.
Extension would be ‘most distressing’
Pamela Burney, who lives next door, said the changes would have an “extremely adverse impact” on light reaching her home.
She added: “This will lead to a lowering of the quality of life… This is most distressing.”
Roisean Farquhar highlighted how that section of the street was originally designed to provide matching houses for Oakbank teachers.
She said such a move would “denigrate” the history of Woodstock Road.
And the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland was “very much concerned”.
The Edinburgh-based organisation said the staff houses were a “significant part” of council plans to “bring good modern design to bear on civic related schemes” in the post-war years.
After the group urged the council to refuse the scheme, it has now been withdrawn by Mr Goldie.
Braemar hotel being turned into home after lean spell
Amid tough times for hospitality, the owners of Braemar’s Moorfield House Hotel have decided to call it a day.
Grant and Maria Mason took over the eight-bedroom venue on Chapel Brae – with impressive views of the Braemar Gathering arena – in 2016.
But now they say operating it is “no longer financially viable”, as it has been running at a loss for three years.
They are now seeking permission to turn it into their house, but first, need to convince Aberdeenshire Council it won’t result in a “detrimental” loss of tourist accommodation in Royal Deeside.
The couple highlight the various similar offerings in the village, along with the likes of the lavish Fife Arms and Braemar Caravan Park.
And the revamped Invercauld Arms is expected to open in 2024.
A statement says: “Over the last three years the guesthouse has been operating at a financial loss.
“Whether the decline in guests can be attributed to a saturation of the accommodation offerings in the area or because of the global economic issues cause by Covid, it has nevertheless caused a downturn in the Moorfield business.”
They say this has been coupled with increasing cost of living costs hammering households and business across the UK.
The Moorfield House Hotel was listed for sale twice in recent years, with a £720,000 asking price, with no buyers emerging.
The owners posted a poetic tribute to The Queen following her death, with pictures taken of her arrival at the Games – just yards from the guesthouse:
The venue welcomed its last guests in September, and the final review left on Tripadvisor now holds some added poignancy.
It was left in July, and came from a guest whose grandparents owned the house in the 1960s.
The visitor said: “Grant and Maria made the visit all the more special. We were given a warm welcome.”
Ballater hotel taking measures to keep guests warm – while saving cash
Meanwhile, not far away, the boss of the Cambus O’ May Hotel is doing everything he can to keep running costs down.
Jake Lyle has looked on in horror lately as the cost of filling his oil tank has tripled from £4,000 to £12,000.
The venue, just off the A93 between Aboyne and Ballater, has recently had a new wood chip boiler installed to help battle rising bills.
Chilly temperatures are nothing new for the business as this image from last winter shows:
Mr Lyle is now seeking permission for a storage shed and chip feeder at the north of the building.
He explained that the carbon-neutral means of heating was better for the planet, and his pocket.
“We have done it for the environmental and economic reasons”, the businessman said.
“We have quite a lot of timber in the garden which has not been thinned for a long time, we have all this fuel right on our doorstep…
“Meanwhile our oil costs have gone up three times, filling up the tank has gone from £4,000 to £12,000.
So this should also help keep the business sustainable.”
And keeping the boiler inside the hotel, Jake added, means “every ounce of heat is used”.
He said the store would be built in an “overgrown area”, with no obvious impact on the traditional getaway.
New garage to host vintage tractor collection
The owner of a home on the outskirts of Fintry wants to build a new garage for their vintage tractor collection.
Applicant Liam Spencer says the plot beside Wellington House is no longer used for farming, and wants to ensure the new garage is “suitably sized”…
He wants to store the family’s two cars there, create a new gym and use it as a safe place for his collection of vintage tractors.
Fire warning over Glendronach ‘hazardous substances’
Last week, Planning Ahead revealed major expansion aims at the Glassaugh Distillery outside Portsoy.
Its American owners, who also operate world-famous Jack Daniel’s, want to turn the north-east whisky plant into a global player.
The same firm, Brown-Forman, is also carrying out work to boost production at its Glendronach distillery in Huntly.
As part of that the company, worth billions, has secured permission from Aberdeenshire Council to store an increased amount of “hazardous substances” at the Forgue site.
It comes after plans to keep 40 tonnes of heating oil, 24 tonnes of gas and 55,000 tonnes of ethanol there were granted in 2019.
The new application was lodged after three more warehouses were erected, meaning now 58,500 tonnes of ethanol will be on the site as the whisky matures.
Have you any views on this week’s applications? Let us know in our comments section below
Whisky warehouses to help farmers survive challenges
And there are plans to erect two whisky warehouses at Court Cairn Farm, near Castle Fraser.
Linton Property Ltd wants to create the hangars on an unused field, stressing that they would not be visible from the historic landmark on the outskirts of Kemnay.
Each would be 60m long, 16m wide and 9m high.
Consultants Aurora Planning say the field is “not well suited for farming with modern agricultural machinery, and of little value as agricultural land”.
They say it would help the owners deal with the “significant” challenges facing the farming industry, which have left many seeking to diversify.
Court Cairn Farm already has ties to the whisky industry, growing a huge amount of the barley used in local production.
Aurora also cites surging demand for warehouses to help the industry bounce back from setbacks like Covid and the suspension of US tariffs.
They say the storage requirements of the whisky industry would provide “greater long-term economic security”.
Works needed to ensure Stonehaven pool’s future
Aberdeenshire Council is planning £100,000 worth of upgrades at Stonehaven’s beloved outdoor swimming pool.
The attraction dates back to 1934, and has been a summertime favourite for generations.
It’s the UK’s only art deco Olympic-sized seawater lido, and typically opens between May and September.
But the 2022 season was delayed by a week due to the need for repairs, meaning fans who had dug out their dookers in eager anticipation were left waiting before taking their first plunge.
The new scheme proposed for the seafront site is designed to “ensure the 2023 and future seasons are protected”.
The council told us that a 2015 survey highlighted some flaws in the basin, such as cracks and corrosion.
And a subsequent look this April hastened the need for “remedial works to be undertaken to prevent deterioration”.
But the authority insists that there are “no immediate structural concerns”.
Historic Environment Scotland has already given its blessing for work on the B-listed landmark.
You can see this week’s plans for yourself using these links:
Stonehaven pool plans
Conversation