Banchory Lodge Caravan Park is demolishing a house to make way for more Deeside tourists, the new owner of a £1.2 million Aberdeen mansion has unveiled home improvement plans and a historic gate lodge at Inverurie is in line for a refurbishment.
All these and more feature in this week’s Planning Ahead, our weekly 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.
But first, let’s celebrate our recent warm weather with some appropriately refreshing plans…
Anyone for ice cream?
It may have taken its time getting here, but summer has finally arrived in the north-east over the past week or so.
And what better way to celebrate than with an ice cream?
Building papers reveal plans to turn an empty unit at 230 Holburn Street in Aberdeen into a new parlour and coffee shop.
The site had been put up for sale for offers of more than £40,000.
These new plans have been put forward by Harish Maliekkal.
230 Holburn Street had been the home of Deeside Cleaners for years, before being turned into a barber shop latterly.
The store is just along from the Sera Mediterranean restaurant and New York Pizza, and across from a former Co-op which could soon become a cake shop.
Let there be light at historic Marischal College quad
As the home of Aberdeen City Council, some might argue that Marischal College isn’t all that often associated with bright ideas.
However, one illuminating concept for the building has now been given the green light by historians.
Officials plan to brighten up the quadrangle at the heart of the A-listed venue with 11 floodlights.
Nine would be within the four towers, with two on the roof of the building.
Historians have now given the plans their backing, saying they wouldn’t adversely affect the famous granite landmark.
It comes after we revealed that pesky seagulls are causing problems at the site by clogging up guttering.
Popworld plans to dazzle fans at new Aberdeen venue
Marischal College isn’t the only city centre building to be getting a bit of a glow-up…
The beloved Exodus club is getting a 90s makeover as it becomes a Popworld venue.
Now, the owners have lodged plans for some changes to the exterior as they look to refurbish and reopen the place as soon as possible.
They want to install two illuminated lanterns at the doorway on Belmont Street, along with 12 floodlights all around the A-listed building.
Meanwhile, new window vinyls will be plastered over the panes showcasing Popworld’s colourful logo.
The plans have been put forward by pub kingpins the Stonegate Group, who already owned Triplekirks and also run the Popworld chain.
Popworld describes itself as “cheese with style”, specialising in guilty pleasures and chart toppers from across the decades.
The changes come amid moves to attract older revellers across the nightlife sector.
Kitchen upgrades at £1.2m Aberdeen mansion
The huge home at 15 Rubislaw Den North in Aberdeen’s plush west end sold for a whopping £1.21 million in April.
Now the new owner, Monrea Watt, is seeking permission for a few internal changes at the listed property.
She wants to remove a utility room to make way for a bigger kitchen, while turning the adjoining sitting room into a dining room.
The property, also known as Glenburn Lodge, dates back to 1929.
Rubislaw Den North is known as Aberdeen’s “Millionaire’s Row”.
A few weeks ago, Planning Ahead covered proposals for the nearby Braco Lodge, at number 11, after its sale for £1.3m.
Lodge at Keithhall House in line for revamp
The Keithhall Estate, on the outskirts of Inverurie, dates back to 1663 when the land was taken over by the 1st Earl of Kintore.
The main building, once known as Caskieben Castle, was renamed Keithhall House around that time.
It was converted to 14 houses and flats in the 1980s.
Various other buildings have been added to the Donside expanse over time, amid the woodland, parkland and grand walled garden.
Three gate lodges were built at entrances to the estate in the 1800s.
And the last of these, the North Lodge designed by Aberdeen architect William Ramage and erected in 1854, is at the heart of freshly formed revamp plans.
This comes after it was sold for £200,000 last April.
‘Gate lodges build to show off how rich landowners were’
Owners Jack Leonard and Cheryl Rogerson now want to spruce up the C-listed building.
Conservation architect Deborah Anderson has compiled a report on what the North Lodge is like just now – and its history.
Documents sent to the council state: “Gate lodges can be referred to as small houses at the gates of the grounds of a large house.
“It would usually be occupied by a gatekeeper, gardener or other employee of the estate.”
She explains that the “decorative style” was designed to “show off” landowners’ prosperity to passers-by.
The report adds: “It created a positive first impression to the visitor before viewing the impressive main house.”
But what about now?
The architect says the unoccupied North Lodge is “starting to show signs of decay due to no heating”.
She adds: “The best way forward would be to bring it back into use as a family dwellinghouse by repairs and restoring it.”
This will include various measures to enhance energy efficiency.
Meanwhile, a “dilapidated” garage would be demolished and replaced.
Walls will be repointed with lime mortar, and an extension will be torn down and replaced.
Concerns over vandalism at empty building
The report further explains that the building, within the “beautiful setting” at Donside, has attracted anti-social behaviour while lying in a “state of disrepair”.
It states: “While the design phase has taken place, the site has suffered from a spate of vandalism and the lodge has been broken into three times.
“It is our client’s aim to now prioritise the upgrading works to allow the building to be fit for habitation and reduce the chance of vandalism.”
Who was William Ramage?
Aberdeen’s most famous architect, Archibald Simpson, pops up quite often in our planning round-up – most recently with regard to the bank building/Wetherspoon pub named after him.
William Ramage was his apprentice, then his assistant, and ultimately took over Simpson’s his practice following his death in 1847.
He also designed the walled garden at Keithhall, Inverurie’s Kintore Arms Hotel, various Aberdeenshire churches and the Exchange Street savings bank in Aberdeen (now flats opposite the Spirit Level pub).
Ramage was only 46 when he died, and is buried at St Clement’s Church next to Fittie.
Ballater path improvement works in the plans
Speaking of landowners, a few have given Ballater Community Council their permission to enhance paths around Monaltrie Park.
Sections of the stretch belong to Aberdeenshire Council, the Invercauld Estate and interior designer Mikhail Pietranek – who owns a mansion there.
The local volunteers say it needs widened and resurfaced in order to better serve locals and visitors.
A selection of proposed “before and after” images show how the path will be improved:
Banchory Lodge Caravan Park expanding with more units
It’s the time of year for folk to get away from it all with a bit of a holiday.
More and more families are embracing the idea of caravan stays, with living costs meaning that many are holidaying in Scotland rather than abroad.
And the owners of the Banchory Lodge Caravan Park are planning an expansion of their Dee Street site to accommodate more campers.
This will mean demolishing a large home at the entrance, which is deemed to be “in poor condition”.
The property was once used as accommodation for site managers, but was later let out to tenants before falling empty in the last few years.
Why demolish the house?
Documents sent to Aberdeenshire Council explain that many renters don’t fancy living in a caravan park.
They state: “Given the location and condition of the property, the applicant has found it difficult to tenant the property.
“It is felt that the site’s location within the caravan park would be better utilized as part of the caravan park business, providing pitches for touring camper vans.”
There would be room for four pitches.
As it stands, there are more than 100 static caravans at the Banchory Lodge park just now.
What did Aberdeenshire Council say?
The local authority’s planning department has now endorsed the proposals.
They say the idea is an “acceptable” way “to extend the established tourism business and meet its demands”.
Do you think more should be done to encourage Deeside tourism? Let us know in our comments section below
Newmachar caravan park changes sought
We finish this week’s round-up with news from another north-east caravan park…
Nia Roo Park at Newmachar is a retirement park, with units mainly used for permanent occupation.
Last year, bosses decided that the short-term let side of the business was “no longer viable”.
They asked Aberdeenshire Council for permission to turn these caravans into permanent homes, to meet rising demand for this side of things.
Management argued there was a growing waiting list of folk wanting to reside at the peaceful spot.
But decision-makers said the units in question were not suitable to properly live in.
And the 19 caravans that had been earmarked for this purpose have been “cleared from the site” since that blow.
Miller Parks Ltd now want to put in 14 new units at the spot instead, designating them as second/holiday homes rather than short-term holiday lets.
Some of these new units would be of the high-end Kensington variety:
These would be sold strictly as holiday homes, for people who live elsewhere.
However, bosses are keen for the council to relax a rule which limits stays to a maximum period of six weeks.
The application is currently being considered.
You can see the plans here:
Marischal College lighting latest
Banchory Lodge Caravan Park proposal
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