There are no substantive archaeological concerns
In its response to the application, the West of Scotland Archaeology Service states: ‘Both the walled garden to the south-east of the castle and the sundial that sits within it are also A-listed.
‘A carved stone at the entrance to the garden indicates that it was constructed in 1710, when it was built for Duchess Anne of Montrose as a kitchen garden. It later served as a tree nursery, and was laid out as a pleasure garden in the mid19th century at the same time as the earlier 19th century extension to the castle was built.
‘A photograph of circa 1900 shows a pavilion on the site now occupied by the sundial. The sundial is a composite piece consisting of an 18th century baluster, with a specially-made plinth and 19th or 20th century brass dial. It was purchased in 1908, at the time the new rose garden was sunk.
‘From this, it is apparent that the sundial does not represent an original feature of the garden, and indeed has only been in place since the early 20th century. It is also the case that the garden as a whole has been recast a number of times during the course of its existence, and is likely to have been subject to fairly extensive levels of ground disturbance.
‘This will have reduced the potential for significant sub-surface archaeological material to be present. In addition, resurfacing the area around the sundial is unlikely to require excavation to a significant depth. As a result of these factors, I would not consider the current application to raise a substantive archaeological issue.’