Parking concerns over kirk scheme
Errol conversion plan
Transport planners have raised an objection to a man’s application to convert a former church in Errol into new homes over concerns about a lack of parking spaces on surrounding streets.
Last month Finn Anderson asked Perth and Kinross Council for listed building consent to form four one- bedroom apartments within the walls of the former Free Church of Scotland standing in the village’s Church Lane.
Cupar-based chartered town planners
Arthur Stone Planning and Architectural Design told PKC in a planning statement the proposal would provide “an appropriate new use” for the C- listed structure “ensuring that it can be retained as part of the historic fabric of Errol”.
However the application has since attracted eight objections from locals who say a lack of parking spaces near the church is already causing problems for drivers and adding another four properties to Church Lane will only make the situation worse.
One resident told PKC during a public consultation: “Church Lane is a narrow road where parking is already at full capacity. Vehicles currently have to park on the pavement in order to allow traffic to pass, and even this only allows for traffic in one direction at a time. This means vehicles regularly have to reverse in narrow spaces to make way for oncoming traffic.
“All of this poses significant safety risks to pedestrians, limits accessibility, [forces] prams, wheelchair users etc onto the road and makes vehicle access to existing driveways very difficult.”
Now the council’s transport planning team have raised their own objection to the conversion going ahead and have indicated they will only reconsider their position if Mr Anderson pays for a study to be carried out to show exactly what impact the proposal will have on parking.
Development engineer Dean Salman said in the team’s response to the application: “I note concerns regarding lack of provision of car parking to facilitate the development and [potentially placing] additional pressures on existing supply/ capacity of on street parking to absorb additional vehicles without issue.
“As such, further information is required in the form of a detailed parking study. This study would be required to be carried out in surrounding streets to assess the impact of the proposals. Insofar as the roads matters are concerned, I object to this proposal for the reasons mentioned.”
The application will now have to be determined by councillors at a later date should Mr Anderson choose to pursue it owing to the number of objections it has drawn from locals.