Groam House Museum succeeds in controversial bid to turn a residential property on Rosemarkie High Street into a storage and conference base after winning Highland Council approval for the move that divided some in the local community
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A CONTROVERSIAL bid to convert a house into a storage and conference base for a nearby Black Isle museum has been approved.
Groam House Museum in Rosemarkie can now use the High Street property which some felt would be better used to ease the housing shortage.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council objected due to the loss of housing stock while questioning the level of community engagement.
Other public concerns included concerns about parking, traffic volumes and pedestrian safety and the potential for noise disturbance; limited details of refuse storage and collections.
There were also concerns about the lack of community engagement on the proposals and “over the timing of display of the required site notice for applications within a conservation area.”
Supporters of the application said it would provide further space for the museum, offer training and educational opportunities and support local economic development.
Councillors on the north planning applications committee were sensitive to both sides of the dispute and sought to add a condition that meant when Groam House no longer required the site it would revert to a residential property.
However, despite that move to try and “heal” some of the divisions within the community that was not something that was deemed possible to do under planning law and the idea was abandoned.
The change of date of the committee meant that neither Black Isle councillor Sarah Atkin nor her substitute were able to attend, so fellow ward member Lyndsey Johnston read out a statement prepared by Cllr Atkin.
She said: “Taking everything into account, there are no material planning considerations sufficient to refuse this planning application.
“The following points, however, are worth noting: even if this application is refused, this property will not be a residence. Groam House has a lease on it, and it will be used for storage and office space.
“Traffic – Rosemarkie is a popular spot due to the beach and Chanonry Point, there are already major traffic management problems throughout the tourist season so a small museum expansion is not going to represent a significant increase in relation to what is already experienced.”
Her statement continued: “At a public meeting the chair of the trustees stated that this purchase was a medium-term solution for Groam House – a five to ten year solution.
“He also stated that he would be happy and wouldn’t mind there being a planning condition which ensured the property was returned to domestic residential use when Groam House left.”
