Holiday flats scheme would have 'overwhelmed' Easter Ross village
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A holiday flats plan which could have helped give the fishing village of Balintore a visitor boost, has been refused unanimously by councillors.
Members of Highland Council north planning committee supported the recommendation from planners to reject the plan to build six flats in a three-storey extension to the village's Commercial Inn.
The major grounds for refusal was that the proposed new building would "completely dominate and overwhelm the surrounding traditional fishing village."
George Skinner wanted to erect the six flats next to his hotel overlooking Balintore Harbour. He said he had hoped the development would attract people off the North Coast 500 route and give a boost to the local economy by encouraging visitors to stay longer and enjoy the local attractions such as the area's rich Pictish heritage.
Committee members and officials were also concerned at the lack of dedicated parking for the flats, with Mr Skinner stating that he envisaged his holiday tenants using the council's public car park at the nearby harbour.
Planner Gillian Pearson told the meeting that the flats would be 1.5 metres higher than the inn.
"Residents live on the other side of the road and the concern is about the overall scale and massing and the impact on neighbouring houses," she said, "There would be an almost overwhelming impact on their side of the street. There would also be a loss of privacy from the proposed balconies and definitely some loss of daylight to the nearby properties.
"The other issue is lack of parking as the proposer is unable to provide any dedicated parking."
She said there might be scope for some parking being available in the public car park, but this cannot be guaranteed and the harbourmaster has intimated that a lot of the car park is for use by people with boats and not available."
Cllr Kirsteen Currie was concerned about a lack of disable access to the proposed flats. She added: "No doubt we want more people to visit, but I am concerned they are only available to people who can bound up stairs."
Ms Pearson told the committee that two previous similar applications for the site had been withdrawn due to concern over a lack of parking, and there had been no pre-application consultation between Mr Skinner and the planners.
She added: "It is always better to have prior consultation."
Local member Alasdair Rhind said: "A bonus for approving would be getting rid of the boat and caravan that are sitting on this site. I appreciate what the applicant is trying to do and I would like to help him today, but I cannot see this going forward in the way it is proposed."
He suggested that Mr Skinner might be better to consider a scaled down application or to invest in doing up his existing hotel.
Mr Skinner previously said: “The harbour at Balintore has so much to offer and this could be seen as the start of the regeneration of the area. It would be a welcome boost to the economy."
Four households objected to the plan on grounds including loss of amenity, lack of parking, traffic concerns and the scale of the building detracting from the picturesque village and harbour.
