Diner told to remove signage
Diner owners in Dunkeld have been told to take down a sign advertising the business amid concern it could distract drivers.
Members of Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council (DBCC) heard residents had raised complaints about the sign promoting a newly approved eatery at the town’s railway station during the group’s most recent monthly meeting.
Community councillor Lachlan MacEwan introduced the subject saying he was aware a number of locals had written to Perth and Kinross Council to complain about the sign which has now been removed.
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee granted Orkun Cevik and Claire Schmid consent to open‘The Craft’cafe and takeaway in June despite a number of objectors raising concerns it could impact on road safety around the station.
The written consent agreed upon by councillors stated any proposed signage at the site“will require a further application to be submitted for advertisement consent”unless it could be proven to benefit from something called“express consent”under existing planning regulations.
Mr MacEwan said it remained to be seen whether the sign had been put up in breach of any condition attached to the agreed consent but added he felt a response he had seen to one resident’s complaint was unsatisfactory.
He went on to say he was also aware one resident’s objection to the diner proposal was not considered by council planners before they recommended it be approved because it had“got lost”somewhere in the system.
Mr MacEwan said planners had asserted in a response to the resident it did not matter that their objection was not considered because other residents had raised the same points in their objections.
“That wasn’t quite correct when you read the objection,”he said, adding the objector had spent a lot of time doing research before putting their representation together only for it to get “lost”in the system.
A PKC spokesperson commented:“We are aware that signs have been erected and are currently investigating the matter. We are in communication with the party involved, with a view to clarifying the position relating to advertisement consent.
“We requested the removal of the signage as part of the enforcement investigation.
“In relation to representations regarding the planning application, we can confirm that a single email submission was subsequently found in the account’s junk mail folder.
“While this representation was unfortunately not found until after the decision to approve the application had been taken, we have taken steps to ensure that this folder will be regularly checked.
“Alongside this, our planning team contacted the objector to apologise and assure them that the core issues they raised, which were similar to those in other submissions, were taken into account as part of the planning determination process and referred to in the report of handling for the application.
“Beyond this one email we are not aware of any representations having been lost, nor any others having been treated as‘junk mail’regarding this application.”