Holyrood throws out holiday park appeal

Proposal to build lodges at Moneydie rejected again

The Scottish Government has rejected a company’s appeal for consent to create a new holiday park near Moneydie, after agreeing with residents it would likely increase the risk of accidents on a local road.

A reporter working for the government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), Richard Hickman, has refused to overrule a council committee’s decision to deny Eco Camp Scotland permission to put camping pods and holiday lodges on land north-east of Kinvaid Farm.

The company’s agent had suggested Mr Hickman ought to ignore that committee’s decision back in January this year and instead respect the “professional judgment” of the council’s interim development quality manager, Anne Condliffe, who had recommended the committee approve the development.

The council’s development management committee ended up unanimously rejecting the scheme after hearing complaints from residents about near misses on the road leading to the site and a local authority official who was supposed to assess the danger inadvertently revealed he did not know what the speed limit was.

Now Mr Hickman has said in his decision on the matter: “There are very serious local concerns that the additional traffic generated by the proposal would cause additional safety risks to walkers and cyclists using the road, including the site visitors themselves coming and going to and from the camp site by these sustainable transport modes, which are to be encouraged.

“I note that much of the road giving access to the site has a narrow carriageway ... with no footway and grass verges that are either very narrow or non-existent.

“This is part of the national cycle network and would be used by nearly all of those going to and from the site.

“The [applicant’s] transport assessment gives no estimate of the total number of vehicle trips that would be generated by the development, which would include trips during the day for tourist purposes and evening trips for meals elsewhere.

“Taking account of the nature of the road, its existing use as a national cycle route, and the additional vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian trips that would be generated by the new development, I agree with residents ... that it is unsuitable for an increased mix of vehicle and pedestrian/ bike traffic, which would be likely to lead to an increased risk of accidents.”

There are very serious local concerns