Hotel staff to live in containers
Theatre boss slams bid
Fonab Castle The executive director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre has objected to plans to house 30 workers in steel containers next door.
Kris Bryce has written to Perth and Kinross Council planners, saying Jed Clark’s proposal to put three 40-foot containers between his five-star Fonab Castle hotel and the theatre is unsuited to the surrounding area.
In his letter he raises about the proposal’s potential impact on views from the theatre but also from the nearby Pitlochry Dam, where a new £4m visitor centre opened just last year.
He reckons the containers, which would each house 10 workers in bedsit units, do not suit the castle either, claiming they will “detract from its character and setting.”
Mr Bryce complained that the hotel has built a wooden fence between the development area and existing ground owned by them, cutting off access to the development area.
The only other access is via land owned by the theatre.
He wrote: “Notwithstanding that the applicant has no right of access over this land for this purpose, the access would be unsuitable for an increase in traffic which would also cause concerns as to the safety of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s employees and visitors.
“In any event Pitlochry Festival Theatre, in order to expand its own workspace, is in the process or erecting a boundary fence which means that any access for this purpose will not be possible.”
He went on: “We understand the units comprise wooden clad steel containers. The design and character of the units are not sympathetic to the appearance of the surrounding area.
“The units detract from the character and setting of Fonab Castle and are also visible from Pitlochry Dam and the surrounding area, as well as from Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s properties.”
Historic Environment Scotland also considers that the proposal will affect Pitlochry Dam and has advised council planners to “seek advice from its archaeology and conservation service for matters including unscheduled archaeology and category B and C listed buildings”.