Concerns raised over lodge plan at hotel

A community council has requested more time to respond to a Perthshire hotel’s plans to add more accommodation for guests amid concern the proposal could have an impact on the property’s historic setting.

Managers of the Dunkeld House Hotel have applied to Perth and Kinross Council for permission to build 14 timber lodges in a small valley lined with trees behind the C-listed property, which is located about a mile west of the town on the banks of the River Tay.

Chartered surveyors acting for the four-star hotel have acknowledged the surrounding landscape’s historical and horticultural importance in supporting documents sent to PKC including a twopart access and heritage statement.

Edinburgh-based GLM say in the first part of the statement the designed landscape around the hotel has existed for more than 250 years and plays “an important role in the surrounding scenery”.

The company also says the area was the site of one of the first larch plantations and has “an important collection of coniferous trees”.

GLM goes on to say in the statement the hotel’s managers intend to retain all the trees and other planting currently located within the area they want to build the lodges in.

The statement adds: “The proposal will add much needed additional hotel accommodation to a hotel and an area with high occupancy levels.

“The proposal will contribute to the local area by creating jobs both during the construction phase and then with an increase in permanent hotel staff.

Members of Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council discussed the application at their latest monthly meeting and agreed to ask PKC for more time to consider its response after two members expressed reservations about the plan.

Community councillor Chris Claydon said she had “real concerns” about the proposed lodges being sited in an area steeped in history - some of which she suggested has yet to be fully understood.

“I know the area really well and it’s a really important archaeological area that we probably don’t know much about,” she said.

“I’ve got real concerns and I would like us to request an extension until we have had an opportunity to look at them.”

Community councillor Lachlan MacEwan agreed the group ought to ask for more time to consider their response.

“There is no way you can build these things without causing some sort of turmoil,” he said.

Chairman Stuart Paton asked group secretary Helen Taylor to write to PKC to request more time to comment on the application.