It’s time for Planning Ahead – our weekly round-up of the latest proposals lodged across the Highlands.
Changes to churches are at the heart of this week’s update.
A former kirk in Applecross has been taken over by a community company and could be transformed into a hub for local people.
Space owned by the Barn Church in Culloden will be handed over to be used as a community garden.
And in a less common move the other way, a former bridal shop in Dingwall will become a church.
But first, let’s begin with an application to build a house in Badenoch and Strathspey that has attracted a bit of environmental concern.
‘Irreplaceable’ woodland loss fears
John and Charonne Metcalfe are behind plans to build a new house at Wester Speybank, near Kincraig.
It is seeking to renew and extend planning permission which was already granted to different owners at the site in March 2014.
According to the planning papers, the proposed house will be a one-and-a-half storey property, with a contemporary design arranged around a large central living space.
There will be two bedrooms and the overall floor space will be just under 1,000sq ft.
That all sounds fine, but according to the Woodland Trust, there is a problem with the location of the house.
The trust says building the house will result in the loss of ancient woodland.
It will also risk causing harm to some of the region’s “most important biodiverse terrestrial habitats”.
In its objection, the trust adds: “These types of woodland are scarce, finite and irreplaceable, and therefore must be protected.
“Development in ancient woodland can lead to long-term changes in species composition, particularly ground flora and sensitive fauna, i.e. nesting birds, mammals and reptiles.
“Adverse impacts would occur as a result of the removal of the ancient woodland, which
contains valuable habitat, to make way for the delivery of this proposal.”
A compensatory tree planting schedule has been included as part of the application.
At the time of publishing, no other objections have been lodged with Highland Council.
Community space in Applecross
The Applecross Community Company has big plans for the village’s Church of Scotland building.
Through grant support from the Scottish Land Fund, it intends to convert the church into a community hub.
The work, if approved, will be carried out in two phases.
The first phase, which is covered by the current planning application, involves using the meeting room as an office and turning the store under the stairs into an office for rent.
The balcony will be turned into a storage space and the main church area will be used as a workshop and studio space.
The second phase will involve more substantial structural changes to the building.
It will create two single-bedroom flats in one half of the building, and convert the other half into community benefit uses: office spaces, a community workshop and a shared “library of things”.
New home for Dingwall church
Dingwall Baptist Church will create a new home in the town after its proposal was approved by Highland planners.
It will now be based at the site of former bridal shop Perfect Dress at 25 Hill Street.
An application was lodged to change the building’s use from class 1 (retail) to class 10 (place of worship).
A proposed layout submitted with the application shows a 355sq ft worship space and a 312sq ft “multi-use community space” on the ground floor.
On the first floor, there will be a second community space.
Further south in Inverness, there are also changes afoot at the Barn Church in Culloden.
The church has applied to change the use of nearby land from church ground to a community garden.
A proposal for a new vision for the church – including a cafe, an extension and more parking – was approved by planners in 2020.
Spotted any plans you think we should know about? Get in touch at north@ajl.co.uk
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