Welcome to Oban and the Fort William Planning Ahead – The Press and Journal’s weekly planning round-up.
It joins our north-east and Inverness series’, which offer readers a selection of the most interesting local planning applications.
Oban and Fort William Planning Ahead looks at applications submitted to Argyll and Bute Council and Highland Council.
This week, a plan for four new houses behind George Street in Oban and a wind turbine development near the town.
An application for a holiday pod has been made in Spean Bridge, and the reasons behind the refusal of a new house at Torlundy have been published.
Torlundy home planning application refused
Let’s get started with the plan for a house at Torlundy that has been refused by planners.
Plans lodged with Highland Council for a house on land south-west of Nevis Lodge, Torlundy, Fort William did not hit the mark for development.
In a decision letter, applicants Mr and Mrs Carver of Torlundy Farm were told that the site they had selected for the detached property did not “meet any of the acceptable development types” laid down in legislation.
Planners said the “development would erode the visual balance of development and woodland due to the loss of and adverse impacts on trees and woodland.
They ruled that the project would not demonstrate suitable siting in keeping with the area’s character.
They also said the applicant had “failed to demonstrate that the proposal would not have an adverse effect on bats, pine marten, red squirrel and badger (or other protected species.”
That was in spite of variations being made to the proposal to allow for the retention of existing mature trees.
Holiday pod at Kilmonivaig near Fort William
Fergus Fraser of Kilmonivaig has applied to Highland Council to build “one small letting pod” on land owned by himself.
The pod is proposed within the area of the newly-built “Riverside” home.
This letting accommodation is intended for use by the owner and will not be occupied as a standalone unit.
There is currently a path up to the proposed site and it is intended to upgrade this so that vehicle access is possible.
There will be some site clearance required to expose hard-packed gravel on which a concrete slab will be poured to support the pod.
The proposed pod is of a single-pitched roof and will be clad with “Hardie Plank” cladding which will “stand up to the harsh weather front on the site”.
This is in-keeping with the existing house which also has Hardie plank cladding.
Terraced houses planned for behind Mountain Warehouse in Oban
A planning application has been lodged for a “mews-type development” on unused land in the town centre of Oban.
A row of four terraced houses is being planned for land behind Mountain Warehouse on George Street.
An application for the development has been lodged with Argyll and Bute Council.
Applicant Paul Sloan is working with architects Beaton and McMurchy of Taynuilt to bring the land into use.
In papers, it is said that the site has historically had very little use.
The applicant states: “The site at present is a bit of an eyesore.
“The proposals provide an environmental gain by constructing high-quality housing in the town centre.”
12 wind turbines near Oban
Developers Galileo 04 Ltd are proposing to construct a 12-turbine wind farm to the south-east of Oban.
Corr Chnoc Wind Farm would have a dozen three-bladed horizontal axis turbines which would result in a combined output above 50MW and potentially up to 86MW.
That’s enough power for 42,000 homes – roughly a town four times the size of Oban and Lorn with almost 9,000 households.
The proposed site in Glen Lonan sits approximately half a mile east of the scattered settlement of Barran/ Kilmore, and about three miles southeast of Oban.
Read more about each application:
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