100-plus people turn out to protest Braes of Ullapool bid for Wester Ross eco-lodges
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A COMMUNITY has come out in force against a planning application that has been adapted and lodged with Highland Council for a second time.
The developer Ossian Developments says the land at Braes of Ullapool, overlooking Lochbroom, would see nine 'eco' lodges spaced out on the landscape to allow for a native trees forest to be available for community use.
A previous proposal was withdrawn to allow the developer to consider local feedback.
But protestors say the land is not suitable for the development – and at the weekend more than 100 people turned out with banners to protest against the plan.
The plan would see nine lodges, two staff accommodation buildings and sewage treatment plant.
Laurence Young, the developer of the site, pointed to his family's development in Glencoe at Dragon's Tooth Golf Course as a benchmark of what is to be developed near Ullapool.
He said: "This is a lovely precious area and we want the very best for it.
"Prior to buying the land we did a pre-application consultation and spoke to the planners and industry bodies.
"We were told that high quality tourism accommodation was what was wanted. That is what we are proposing.
"We went away after discussing matters with the community last May, and we have thought long and hard about the development. We have reduced the numbers of pods to nine, from 16, and we have carried out an independent assessment of transport and roads in the area.
"What is clear from the report is that there are no major issues on the route to the forest. It is in the development plan."
However, residents argue that the site is accessed by a steep, narrow single track road with no pedestrian pathway and few suitable passing places, off a dangerous junction which residents say they have frequently highlighted to Highland Council.
Mr Lawrence continued: "We have just won small business owner of the year in a national awards ceremony and we pay the living wage for all of our employees. We are a family business and we have developed a beautiful place in Glencoe.
"We want to do the same here, to the same high quality."
Speaking about the lukewarm response from the community, Mr Young continued: "The banners are not the way in which the planning will be decided.
"This is not the Wild West, we have a planning system in place, and we have looked at the rules, planning guidance and talked with industry bodies to get the right development.
"We are spending a great deal of money in the area.
"If we sell the land a bigger, and perhaps less co-operative developer might move in."
However, around 100 protestors met at the development site to raise objections.The proposed site is the site of a core path on a popular local walking route.
Resident, Fiona Gero said: "I love this particular piece of hillside, which is sunny and as an elderly person, easy to reach.
"We would no longer be free to roam here instead the core path will run past a campsite with everything associated; bins, traffic, hardcore access pathways, hot tubs with associated noise and light pollution.
"This is an iconic tract of land which the developer intends to exploit for their own gain with no local economic benefit to the community."
Residents say there is a moratorium in place for further residential development, with multiple planning permissions for residential housing being previously declined due to the inadequate road and junction.
Carl Mackay, who lives the near the site, said: "This kind of commercial development is not suitable for this location, with a huge increase in construction and lodge guest traffic on a road that is not suitable for increased traffic volume, presenting many dangers, particularly for the school children who would be walking to school along the road with no footpath available to them.
"Ullapool is suffering from a housing crisis, with the average house now costing ten times the average salary, houses selling well above the asking price and an acute shortage of building plots.
"There will be a wave of local outrage if a commercial development of this size is to go ahead, with previous applications for family homes being refused in the Braes area because of access issues, which the developer has no intention of addressing."
Resident Robbie McFeddries said: "There is no environmental impact report, the dark skies report saying nine lodges fit in with the character of existing lights, so one assumes the next nine would also fit in.
"The planning reports are a joke. Treated sewage and wastewater are to go into a furrow which when investigated this week had no running water. It is a bog, and that will be literally true if this proposal goes through."
Braes plan withdrawn to allow developer to consider local feedback
