Civic trust reluctant to see trees felled for retirement village

Juniper Residential plans 41-property complex at site of former Windlestrae Hotel

A community action group has objected to the demolition of a former hotel in Kinross to make way for a retirement village.

Kinross-shire Civic Trust opposes the bulldozing of the Windlestrae Hotel on Muirs Road for a new 41-property development as the application involves the felling of more than 50 mature trees.

The trust also believes the proposal will have a detrimental effect on the town’s Market Park, which sits in a conservation area.

Juniper Residential wants to tear down the Windlestrae Hotel to build 33 retirement properties, eight affordable homes, a communal club lounge and green areas.

The community group is particularly concerned the proposal involves cutting down a mature sycamore tree on the north west of Market Park that has a British Standard Category A rating.

A spokesman for the community group said: “The trust is not opposed to development of the brownfield part of the site.

“However, around a quarter of the hotel site is taken up with a formal garden with many trees in early maturity – 30 to 60 years old – in good to fair condition and with a considerable potential life in front of them.

“These trees form an attractive backdrop to the Market Park when viewed from the avenue part of Muirs, the main thoroughfare in Kinross.

“The whole formal garden is to be built over and all its trees felled.

“Instead of a backdrop of trees to the Market Park, the white gable ends of the new houses will be viewed.”

The civic trust’s is one of seven objections already lodged against the development with four in support.

Local campaigner Ken Miles objected to the development saying: “The proposal seeks the entire destruction and removal of every mature tree and shrub currently within the established formal garden of the hotel.

“These actions would destroy an extremely attractive feature and replace it with a sterile blank canvas.

“It would seem only to provide maximum developer profit.”

In March, developer McCarthy and Stone abandoned its £4 million plan to clear the 55-acre site to make way for 30 specialised homes, which it had claimed would help cope with the area’s increasing older population.

The Kinross-shire Civic Trust were among the objectors to the previous application as well, again fearing the proposal would result in the loss of trees on the hotel grounds.

These actions would destroy an extremely attractive feature and replace it with a sterile blank canvas. KEN MILES

Picture: Steve MacDougall. There are dozens of mature trees within the vicinity of the former hotel.