A Foveran farmer is in a battle with his neighbour over the size of his hedge, while work to bring the Tarlair swimming pool back to life is continuing – with efforts to stop flooding at the recently revamped pavilion.
These and more feature in this week’s Planning Ahead, our regular 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.
We start this week’s round-up with news of a new shop planned in Aberdeen…
Physiotherapy base on Westburn Road could become new takeaway
The former base of Aberdeen Physiotherapy at 99 Westburn Road is in line for a revamp.
It was put up for sale for £65,000 recently.
Now, Aberdeen-based applicant Aadhantamil Ltd wants to turn the spot on the corner with Watson Street into a coffee shop and takeaway.
Blueprints show how there would be space for 16 customers inside.
Changes planned for osteopath office
Elsewhere in Aberdeen, changes are afoot at the Colin Ross Osteopathy clinic on Burns Road.
It was all the way back in 1986 that permission was granted to transform part of the flat in this west end block into the practice.
Now, plans have been lodged to revert the osteopathic surgery back into a “wholly residential” premises.
Blueprints show how the clinic space will become a living room.
Aldi: ‘Delivery rules are causing a headache at Ellon supermarket’
Bosses at the Aldi store in Ellon are seeking a change to rules imposed when they managed to change opening hours last year.
In November, they stay got permission to stay open to 8pm rather than 7pm on a Sunday.
However, they were told that deliveries couldn’t take place between 11am and 7pm, in case the noise disturbed people living nearby.
These restrictions had not been in place before, since it opened in 2014.
And now Aldi want the regulation to be scrapped.
The chain says the area is slightly noisy anyway, with the “noise climate” coming from the A920 road and even the “audible water flow” from the River Ythan.
Documents sent to Aberdeenshire Council explain that the overnight lorry ban is “placing undue restrictions on the ability of Aldi Logistics to service this store”.
A 33-page report has been submitted explaining that the unloading process should be allowed beyond the stipulated period.
Fancy seating on the line up for P&J Live
Back over on the outskirts of Aberdeen, the city’s premier concert arena is planning an expensive upgrade.
The P&J Live are planning to spend a whopping £1.6 million on top-of-the-line seating.
Proposals submitted to the council reveal that a fancy new “retractable seating system” would be fitted in the arena.
This would make it easier for arena bosses to switch between standing and seating on the arena floor, as these rows of chairs are easily stored away.
The P&J Live is Scotland’s biggest indoor arena, with a standing capacity of 15,000 for its biggest events.
Balcony plans for Aberdeenshire abode
Over in Oyne, between Huntly and Inverurie, plans have been formed to enhance a home.
Mike Lynch wants to create a new extension – with a balcony – at the spacious, four-bedroom East Ardoyne property.
Action needed to stop flooding at Tarlair’s revamped pavilion
After many years in the making, Macduff locals’ dream of bringing Tarlair Pool back to life is getting closer to coming true.
Recently, the spruced up pavilion reopened as a cafe.
And now they are onto the next stage of the project – the pool and boating pond facing out towards the Moray Firth.
The Friends of Tarlair have submitted documents to Aberdeenshire Council outlining the next steps for the A-listed attraction.
What are the new plans?
The group explains that work to restore the pool walls has been completed, but they now need to stop it overspilling and flooding the terraces around the pavilion.
Papers submitted to the local authority state: “It will be clear that the effects of rising tide levels are causing the water levels in the boating pond to rise to an extent that the lower terrace, which provides level access into the pavilion, is flooding.”
So how will this “safety issue” be resolved?
The rising waters will be tackled by cutting a “small channel” into the central wall between the boating pond and the sea pool.
Volunteers leading the project insist this would only have a “negligible impact on the architectural interest of the structure”.
And they stress that this is desperately needed to “support the viable, active use of the newly restored pavilion”.
The forms add: “The public benefit of bringing the site as a whole back into good
condition and into a long-term sustainable use outweighs the negligible heritage harm caused by the proposals.”
Foveran farmer’s hedgerow sparks dispute with neighbour
On the outskirts of Foveran, one resident is locking horns with the owner of a Highland Coo farm over a high hedgerow just a few miles from Donald Trump’s golf course.
Fed-up Graeme Moir, of Aikenshill Cottages, has gone to Aberdeenshire Council over the growth next door – which he says has “totally obliterated” his view of the Menie dunes.
Mr Moir wrote to the owner, farmer James Duthie, back in September, asking for the “out of control” shrubbery to be trimmed down.
Despite Mr Duthie snipping the hedgerow down to 3m, this does not seem to have settled things.
Mr Moir has now set out his reasons for taking the complaint to the local authority.
The irate neighbour has included a timeline of his communication with the Foveran farmer.
On September 11, he claims he “pointed out it was a high hedge, blocking light to my property”.
In October, Mr Moir says he sent Mr Duthie some “high hedge guidance”, followed by a warning to contact the local authority a week later.
He added: “I bought my property in 1988 partly because of the view of the Menie dunes and the ships passing on the North Sea.
“Your hedge has totally obliterated the view, depriving my garden and garage of light.
“I have tried on several occasions to explain to Mr Duthie his hedge has gone all out of proportion.
“It’s all around my propery blocking light and any views available.”
What was the hedge owner’s response?
Mr Duthie was stern in his reply, setting out why he believed he was in the right.
His argument centred around the fact that the supposedly overbearing bush was not actually on the boundary on his land, as he reminded Mr Moir to “check his title deeds”.
Mr Duthie also argued that he could not trim the hedgerow due to it being nesting season for birds.
He insists the growth was created in 2011 “under a government-backed farm scheme to re-establish hedgerows within the countryside”.
What happens next?
In 2013, the Scottish Government brought in new laws to help deal with hedge height wrangles.
The High Hedge Act enshrined certain legal regulations about, as you might guess from the name, how big your hedge can be.
Since this came into force, residents have been able to make official appeals to have their neighbour’s bushes lopped down if they can prove it’s affecting them badly enough.
And as Mr Moir has now submitted an official appeal, the council will get to decide whether the contentious shrubbery will get the chop, literally and figuratively.
What do you think of the high hedge row? Let us know in our comments section below
Great Western Road guesthouse could become huge home
435 Great Western Road, which has been used as staff accommodation, is currently on the market for £399,000.
The three-storey Fourways Guesthouse building has eight bedrooms and its own two-bedroom annexe.
As the owners strive to sell it, they are seeking to change its use from a guesthouse to a home.
You can see this week’s plans here:
Westburn Road plan in Aberdeen
Foveran farmer in high hedge dispute
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