Move to build glamping pods at hotel rejected
PLANS to build glamping pods at a village hotel have been rejected by councillors despite officers recommending they be approved. The Manorview Group had lodged an application with Renfrewshire Council to erect 10 pods in a field immediately to the north of the Bowfield Hotel and Country Club in Howwood.
But at a meeting of the planning board, councillors voted for the plans to be scrapped after village councillor Andy Doig lodged a motion for refusal.
Ahead of the meeting, concerns had already been voiced by residents and Howwood Community Council about the potential impact the development could have on the landscape.
Meanwhile, fears around environmental consequences – such as air pollution – noise levels, connection to drainage and possible water supply issues were also raised.
Councillor Doig told elected members he was concerned the road and sewage infrastructure would not be able to withstand the proposed development.
He said at the meeting: “I would like to move refusal of the application please.
“I think it’s very telling Howwood Community Council, while they are sympathetic to the demands of tourism and economic development, have also come out in opposition to the granting of this application.
“The specific reason they are moving against this is I think it would conflict with planning policy, as existing road and sewage infrastructure cannot withstand the greater pressure that this application would incur if successful.
“The sole access to Bowfield through the residential route is of
FINES handed to people breaking the lockdown were issued disproportionately more often in poorer Scottish communities.
Almost a third of all Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued to those living in the ten per cent most deprived communities,
Bowfield Road and every time there is flash flooding water pours down Bowfield Road and the drainage system has problems.
“This recurring problem is such that, last year, when the schools were just going back, the manhole cover at the bottom of Bowfield Road blew off from the water pressure and the surface of the road started to lift.
“This led to the closure road for a number of days.”
Councillor Bill Binks added: “I’ve had a number of letters, not
researchers discovered.
FPNs were 12 times more likely to be issued to people living in the 10 per cent most deprived areas compared with those in the ten per cent least deprived parts.
The difference was described as ‘startling’ by of the just from local households, but from farmers who are continually complaining about the amount of litter which of course affects the livestock they are looking after.
“They only feel this would add to that situation.”
Board convener Marie McGurk moved the idea of a site visit, but when the two options were put up against each other, Councillor Doig’s motion – seconded by Councillor Binks – won by 10 votes to five.
the academic who carried out the research and raised concerns of ‘justice inequalities’.
Report author Professor Susan McVie, of the University of Edinburgh, carried out the first detailed analysis of the police’s use of powers introduced by the
Coronavirus Regulations to curb the spread of the virus.
It found that 4328 were issued, meaning less than 0.1 per cent of Scotland’s population was affected.
The use of FPNs rose sharply at the start of lockdown but gradually reduced over time.