Housing plan led to abuse
Councillors have deferred making a decision on a Longforgan planning appeal which led to the applicant receiving abuse from a local.
Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) Local Review Body (LRB) was asked to consider an application for the erection of four houses to the west of Rawes Farm Steading.
At a meeting of the LRB last week, councillors requested a site visit and more information before they reach a decision.
Back in 2005, planning permission was granted for the existing steading.
Around the same time, further permission was given for new build houses.
In 2015 planning permission was given for a total of eight dwellinghouses on land to the northeast and south of the converted steading complex.
This replaced a number of the previous consents and resulted in an overall increase of three additional dwellinghouses to the five additional previously approved, giving a total of 17 units.
The latest planning application was for four three to four bedroomed detached two-storey homes with slate roofs, using the existing access road.
The application received 12objections from 12 and was refused in September 2019.
The majority of objections were related to the access route being a private road and concerns over drainage and the waste treatment plant which is claimed to be“at capacity”for the existing houses.
The appeal stated how both the applicant and their agent had been subjected to“direct attacks and abuse” from a local resident with what the agent said were“many factual inaccuracies.”
PKC refused planning permission on the grounds it did not comply with its local development plan and said the land was“prime agricultural land.”
The appeal launched by Opfer Logan Architects on behalf of the client said it had been brownfield agricultural land for over 70 years.
The agent went on to contest objections about drainage, writing:“No evidence was provided to support this statement. In contrast we understand the SUDS system feeds into a deep lying field drain running to the River Tay and we are not aware of any occasion of the SUDS pond being even approaching capacity.”
The agent also maintained their client had access to the road, saying: “Our client has rights of access to/from the road for pedestrian and vehicular traffic for all purposes, together with the right to form new access to his road where required to service any future development on the site.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr Ian James said he would suggest deferring for more information about drainage.
Convener, Cllr Henry Anderson said he too would like to defer on the grounds of wanting an accompanied visit to the site, more information on previous planning applications and to get more information from officers about drainage.