Issues over chalet plans

Mr Roddie’s bid to build chalets on his Stirlingshire estate has also proved problematic.

His company Spectrum Properties Scotland secured conditional approval last September to build 12 chalets north of Barns Knowe in the grounds of Sauchieburn House, despite suggestions the area had been run down in order to justify development.

A condition was attached to the approval by Stirling Council that the developer must pay a road bond to secure repair of the private road to the site is now being called into question.

The legitimacy of the condition was later called into question by the applicant’s agent, leading the council’s legal adviser to agree the bond would be“inappropriate in the current circumstances where there is an existing road and it is not a public road”and“the requirement to have the road repaired would be more appropriately dealt with by a one-off repair secured through planning condition”.

At a meeting last week, the council’s planning panel agreed to substitute one of the conditions of approval for the 12 holiday chalets.

The new condition states that, before any development can start on site, a road condition survey has to be carried out on the private road providing access to the site under control of the applicant.

The survey report then has to be submitted to the council for written approval.

Further road condition surveys must also be carried out along with proposals for road repairs after completion of works on the fourth chalet and again after completion of works on the 11th chalet.

In both cases the surveys have again to be submitted to council planners for written approval.

Approved road repairs must be carried out before works on the fifth or sixth chalet and before work starts on the 12th chalet respectively, with all roadworks to be completed before any of the units are occupied.

The site of almost 2.3 hectares is within the grounds of the estate, between one and two miles south-west of Chartershall and the Battle of Bannnockburn Visitor Centre.

Six objections were submitted to the original application, raising concerns including inappropriate location and adverse impact on the natural environment.