A Highland charity which runs a wigwam campsite for organised community and youth groups has been given an enforcement notice for breaching its planning conditions.
The Cairngorm National Park Authority (CNPA) planning committee decided retrospective planning permission was needed for the Speyside Trust’s 35 wooden teepees at Badaguish Outdoor Centre near Aviemore.
Planning permission for the project was granted with conditions in early 2012, but in August last year unauthorised works were found to have taken place with the breach of 11 conditions.
These include significant changes being made to the layout of areas of open space, wooded areas, the arrangement of individual wigwam sites, and works on a cycle track as part of the development.
Other condition breaches include the failure to ensure that suitable refuse provision and bin storage is being provided on site.
The risk of future enforcement action as a result of the breaches was highlighted to the Trust and it was suggested that they should seek a new application for the whole site.
A date was then set in December 2014 for the charity to submit a new application notice to Highland Council, but they failed to comply.
The CNPA committee served the enforcement notice during a private meeting at Boat of Garten on Friday.
Eleanor Mackintosh, the CNPA planning committee convener, said: “There have been several planning breaches at Badaguish and as the planning authority, we have no option but to consider enforcement action. Neither the Speyside Trust or their agent has indicated to our officers in recent weeks how they plan to proceed or rectify the situation so we need to make sure that our officers have the necessary authority to seek the submission of a retrospective planning application.”
A spokesman for Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group welcomed the enforcement move, adding: “Public confidence in a fair planning system is undermined when planning conditions are not enforced. This is especially so given that conditions can make all the difference between an application being approved or refused. Applicants should not benefit from disregarding the rules.”
The Speyside Trust yesterday said they were not commenting but did not receive a response.