The former Spittal of Glenshee Hotel is to get a new lease of life after it suffered from a devastating fire in 2014.
Planning permission was granted in principle yesterday by the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s (CNPA) planning committee.
The proposed development will see the erection of a new main building to house the reception and bar and restaurant area, with 18-holiday accommodation units to be scattered around the main building.
The decision came as the CNPA committee met in Boat of Garten yesterday, with committee members praising the site’s ambition to provide facilities that will serve both members of the local community and visitors.
Planning committee convener Eleanor Mackintosh said: “I welcome these development plans with this site having been long associated with some sort of tourism accommodation, welcoming travellers over many years. It’ll be great to see the site tidied up and brought back into use.”
The hotel sits along the CNPA’s much-acclaimed snow roads, taking travellers on an mountainous journey through the national park. The route links the A93 Blairgowrie road to the A939 at Grantown on Spey taking in Glenshee, Braemar, Ballater, The Lecht and Tomintoul.
CNPA Planning Officer Emma Wilson added: “The site of this development is in a very strategic location with it being at the southern gateway to the Cairngorms National Park and adjacent to the much publicised Snow Routes Scenic Route.
“The development meets with our policies and will provide an opportunity for this derelict site in a key location to be brought back into use providing much-needed tourism facilities.”