Garage lights can stay on
Councillors will be asked to dismiss residents’complaints
Town planners have recommended councillors only partially restrict the time a garage in Perthshire can be lit up despite residents complaining the lights bother them.
The council’s planning team reckon a company’s latest application to retain lights recently added to Young’s Garage in Birnam - deemed “excessive” by some - should be approved so long as they are only kept on from 7am until 11pm during opening hours.
That recommendation is unlikely to appease disgruntled residents who have written to the local authority asking it to have the company close the garage and turn the lights off even earlier in the evening so its lights, as well as drivers stopping to use its services, do not disturb them.
The council received ten objections to Certas Energy’s application during a consultation including one from Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council who suggested the garage only be allowed to be lit up and open until 9pm so as to minimise disturbance to residents.
It said: “We consider that this application, which effectively permits the operation of the petrol station ... until 11pm ... poses an unacceptable burden on the community.”
However PKC’s environmental health team reckon there is no need for such a restriction and has recommended councillors accept the company’s case for keeping the garage open and the lights on until 11pm.
A report of handling to go before the council’s planning committee tomorrow states: “It is clear from the representations received that the installed lighting and the way it has been operated to date has had a detrimental impact on surrounding residential properties and their occupants.
“A consultation with environmental health confirms that if the installed lights are not on during the hours the site is closed for business, they would have no objection.
“They recommend conditional control to limit the hours of operation associated with the lights and they also recommend that the lights are aligned in a manner to avoid