The mothballed Strachan School could soon become a new Deeside home, a farmer wants to add a swimming pool at his house and huge plans have been formed for a demolished Dyce office site.
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.
First, we take a look at a trio of proposals revealing how various parts of the north-east have been hit by severe storms in recent years…
Marykirk man wants to build bigger wall after flooding horror
The owner of Marymill Farmhouse at Marykirk submitted shocking images showing flood damage to his kitchen as he sought permission to prevent a repeat.
Walid Kalid was caught up in the horror of Storm Babet last November, just months after the troubled house was sold at a knockdown price.
It was the second time in the space of a year it was left submerged.
Marymill Farmhouse is between both the burn of Balmaleedie and the River North Esk.
The property was auctioned last year, with a guide price of £55,000, as sales agents acknowledged the damage it had endured.
It had sold for almost double that amount in June 2004.
A blurb reads: “The property suffered water damage from the flash floods in November 2022.
“This presents an opportunity for developers to add value to this property.”
But not long after the sale went through, Mother Nature would strike again.
Last autumn, Storm Babet wreaked havoc across the Mearns and beyond.
The cyclone raged for days, with nearby Angus recording its wettest day since records began.
‘This is due to constant flooding’
Mr Kalid recently sought permission from Aberdeenshire Council to increase the height of one section of the flood prevention wall from 1m to 1.5m.
He added: “This is due to the constant flooding at the property and 1m is not high enough.”
Planning chiefs had some qualms, but agreed with the need for action.
A report states: “The design of the wall is not typical of boundary treatments in the area, which are either dry stone dykes, or soft landscaping.
“However, neither of these solutions would be effective as a flood defence for the property.”
Sandend house was wrecked by landslide
Over in Sandend, near Portsoy, Matthew Booth has told of his despair living literally on the brink of disaster…
In 2017, a landslide at the coastal village rendered his house “uninhabitable”.
The home at the foot of a brae was later condemned by Aberdeenshire Council.
He says “significant time and expense have since been invested in restoring the property”, using his own money “to make the area safe and habitable”.
And the area at the back of the home was eventually made secure in 2022.
‘Efforts to prevent future landslide destruction’
The spot where his “destroyed” shed and decking area once stood was fixed last year.
And now he is seeking permission to replace them both.
Mr Booth says the shed was an “essential component” of the abode as it was “integral to his daily activities” there.
He adds: “The reinstatement is essential to restore function and ensure the property continues to meet the needs of its residents.
“Considerations have been made for improved stability and resilience to prevent future damage from similar natural events.
“The new shed and decking area will be better equipped to withstand environmental challenges, ensuring the safety and well-being of the residents and the community.”
Historic Fyvie Castle ‘playroom’ wrecked by toppled tree
And at Fyvie Castle, a tree was sent crashing through a historic racquets court building during fierce winds in February 2023.
But before we get into that incident, let’s take a look at the man behind the unique addition to the north-east castle – who carved out a slice of America in Aberdeenshire.
Who was Alexander Forbes-Leith?
This part of the castle was added in 1903 for Alexader Forbes-Leith, the then-Laird of Fyvie.
The building also contained a skittles alley and was known as his “playroom”.
It was inspired by the time he spent forging his name in the steel industry across the pond.
Alexander Forbes-Leith made his fortune in the steel industry in the United States.
He was a director of US Steel and a partner in his father-in-law’s Merchant Bank by the time he returned to Scotland to buy the Fyvie Castle in 1889.
They spruced up the interiors and brightened up the rooms with lavish artworks.
Addition was ‘in fashion with wealthy Americans’
And current owners The National Trust for Scotland explain: “Inspiration for the ‘playhouse’ came from Lord Leith’s transatlantic lifestyle.
“It was fashionable for wealthy Americans to construct a building, usually separate from the main house, for games and leisure pursuits.
“The Playhouse has a racquets court, built to American dimensions, complete with a viewing platform for spectators, and a traditional skittles alley, imported from America.”
Forbes-Leith died in 1925. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and his ashes now rest in St Peter’s Parish Church Cemetery, Fyvie.
Have a look inside his Edwardian “leisure complex”:
Tree ‘weighing 50 tonnes’ wrecked building
About 120 years after it was built, disaster struck.
During Storm Otto in spring 2023, a huge fir tree smashed through the roof during 83mph winds.
The NTS states: “Much of the stonework to the main building on that side was dislodged, in addition to the collapse of the glass roof to the main court.
“Our team of specialists sprang into action and arranged a crane to remove the tree carefully, the main trunk weighing 50 tonnes.
“Sadly, the extensive damage left the building in a dangerous condition and exposed it to snow and rain until we could safely put up a wrapped scaffold to offer protection.”
So what is happening now?
The NTS aims to reopen the building in the summer of 2025.
And plans lodged with the local authority detail how they will carry out repairs to the A-listed attraction between now and then.
New dentist for growing Countesswells community
The UK has been plunged into a dental crisis since Covid, with many unable to afford treatment and almost 20% of people struggling to find an NHS dentist.
There are about 1,000 fewer working here than before the pandemic.
So it could be with some relief that residents in Aberdeen’s developing new town of Countesswells welcome the news of a new clinic.
Imran Rizviuk has lodged building plans for the new facility on Deer Park Place.
Papers reveal he would spend £55,000 on fitting out the premises.
It would span across three units at the estate.
A few days ago, we revealed how Huntly Dental Practice plans to take on thousands more patients by expanding into the old bakery next door.
Salvation Army taking over old bike shop
Evans Cycles moved out of its Great Northern Road home in Aberdeen back in 2019, but later opened up on Union Street in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army closed its charity shop on the city’s John Street in February.
And now the charity is eyeing up the old bike shop, which has been left empty for five years, as its new base.
Blueprints show how the unit could be turned into a new “donation centre”.
New swimming pool for Whitecairns farmer
Roddy Catto runs the Hillhead of Muirton dairy farm at Whitecairns, near Dyce.
Mr Catto has now submitted an application to Aberdeenshire Council seeking the go-ahead for an extension at his home there.
Blueprints explain that this is in order to create a new indoor swimming pool.
However, Aberdeenshire Council’s senior environmental health officer is threatening to pull the plug on the plans…
Alan Tait responded: “The proposed development is served by a private water supply.
“The supply in question serves other properties. In a previous instance when a swimming pool was added to another supply, it left other properties without water.”
The department is now requesting tests be carried out and information supplied on “the volume and daily usage of the proposed swimming pool”.
Fresh future for flattened Craigievar House office site
The Craigievar House office complex in Dyce was formerly the home of offshore firm Aker Solutions, until it moved to the nearby Aberdeen International Business Park.
After that, Centric Community Projects Limited took over the building on the Kirkhill Industrial Estate and began offering space to local groups.
It was the base for AberNecessities, and formed a crucial collection point for donations to be sent to Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022.
The three-storey office building was later put up for sale.
And owners Hurstwood Estates recently spent £180,000 knocking it down.
Now Manchester-based real estate firm Arrowmere Capital 2 Ltd are behind plans to transform the 12-acre site.
They want to create a “major business and industrial development” comprising industrial units, storage and distribution buildings and office space.
Public consultation events on the plans have been arranged on Thursday, September 26, and Thursday, October 24, at the nearby Leonardo Hotel from 3pm to 7pm.
Stoneywood School to get new Portakabin
A short distance away on the outskirts of Aberdeen, Stoneywood School opened in 2018.
But its pupil roll is expected to balloon by hundreds in the years ahead, with some estimates showing it to be well over capacity by 2028.
Now, Aberdeen City Council has formed plans to build a new Portakabin at the site to accommodate the influx of children.
The structure would cost £320,000 to erect.
Strachan School to become house after closure
Aberdeenshire Council closed Strachan School about five years ago, shutting a building once thought to be “the main focus of the village”.
It marked the end of an era for the community, as the school had been part of Strachan since 1877.
But as the decades passed, its roll became an increasing concern.
Reckoned to be one of the smallest schools in Scotland, by the time the axe fell in 2019 it had been two years since a pupil was sent there.
The village primary, a few miles outside Banchory, was put up for sale for £110,000.
Listing it, the local authority said its “preference” was for the two-classroom granite building “to be retained in any development”.
Could Strachan School now become a home?
And now, fresh plans have emerged which indicate it could soon be turned into a new house.
But owners Mr and Mrs N Middleton first want to create a new access road from the B976 to the school building.
To achieve this, the south wall would be torn down.
Architects state: “The structural integrity of the south wall has been severely compromised by trees growing against it on the inside of the site. A section has fallen on to the road.
“My clients need to form a new vehicular access to the site from the B976.”
Documents sent to the council say that more detailed plans on the conversion will be lodged in due course.
What do you make of the home conversion plans? Let us know in our comments section below
Commando plaque at Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar
This weekend, the eyes of the world will turn to Braemar for the village’s famous Highland Games event.
But there is more to the village than its royally-approved Gathering, and efforts to highlight a hidden aspect of its past have now been approved.
The luxury Fife Arms Hotel, bound to be packed out this weekend, was once a Commando “mountain warfare” training centre.
And the owners of the building will now recognise this link with a plaque to be positioned at the entrance to the Flying Stag bar.
Read more about the hotel’s exciting past here.
You can see the plans here:
Strachan school home proposal
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