Retired couple duped by Bellanoch plot sale
fee, taking the total to £6,900.
They went to sleep that night dreaming of an idyllic future. Robyn said: “We thought if we could put a temporary pod there or a shipping container with a hatch, it would be great. Our plan was to make it pretty, but to blend in. We respect the countryside.
“Eventually we would sell our place down south and buy a house in Argyll.
“We would use the Bellanoch plot for bee hives. We thought this would be wonderful.
“All we wanted was a little plot, somewhere to come and stay at weekends while we look for something permanent. We were so excited.”
But Robyn was suddenly awake with a feeling of dread.
She said: “I woke up at 2am thinking something’s not right. The pictures looked like they had just hacked into the earth. It didn’t look right.
“The land was divided into plots. So the next day I asked the salesman to send me a picture showing the exact piece of land I had bought. He never got back to me.
“I started emailing planning control, to ask if we could put a pod on there. They said we would need planning permission. Then I started looking for information about the site and saw articles in The Argyllshire Advertiser about the enforcement action. I thought, what are we getting ourselves into? This is too much.”
She added: “We love nature, we don’t want to be involved in destroying it.”
An Argyll and Bute Council spokeswoman said: “Express planning permission would be required for any use of the land or buildings that were not directly related to the agricultural management of the land.”
The spokeswoman added: “The site was subject to an enforcement notice to reinstate the ground to its original levels following unauthorised engineering works. The site has now been reinstated to its original condition with the levels as close as possible. The enforcement notice remains open. A requirement of the notice was for the site to be seeded to assist it regenerating and the re-seeding cannot be undertaken until April, to allow it to take.
“The site is considered to be a sensitive location, sitting within the Knapdale National Scenic Area and in close proximity to nature conservation designations. This, along with requirements for access, servicing and the presence of existing power lines, significantly restrict the prospects and development potential of the site. To date there has been no planning permission sought or granted in relation to the use of the site for camping/glamping or the siting of motorhomes, containers etc.”
Robyn continued: “I approached the auction house. They didn’t get back to me. I wanted to know exactly what I had bought. Suddenly all correspondence was through solicitors.
“Us not doing our due diligence into the site is one thing. False advertising is another thing. The description of the plot doesn’t match reality.
“I asked if we could have our deposit back. But the auction house was taking no responsibility because we didn’t do due diligence.
“Our dream quickly turned into harsh reality. This will set us back but it won’t put us under. We still love Scotland.”
Future Property Auctions were contacted by The Argyllshire Advertiser for comment.