Former restaurant to be turned into seafront home
Planning permission has been granted to convert the former Coast cafe in Whiting Bay into a house, subject to conditions.
The building is sandwiched in the centre of the village between the main road and the beach, over which it has extensive views from the rear.
Two objections were received in respect of the application which concerned the loss of business premises, the appearance of the new one-and-a-half storey building and the risk of flooding to the property.
The architect Alastair Howe told planning officials: ‘Had the business been a viable proposition, we feel that it would have sold well before my client bought it, indeed, it had been on the market for some time, at least one to two years, before the purchase was made.’
With regard to flooding he added: ‘ Whilst not specifically mentioned in our application, rock armour to protect the property and therefore this section of coastline, has been discussed and my client fully intends to explore the provision of such armour should the application be successful.’
The proposal is to replace the existing building with a new, one-and-a-half storey dwelling, set back from the street to give privacy but open to the views at the rear, over the beach, above which it is raised, giving a further degree of privacy from that direction.
Meanwhile, a planning application has been made to demolish Johnston’s Marine Stores at The Old Pier in Lamlash to allow the redevelopment of the land.
The application states that the existing timber structures were constructed in the earlyto mid-20th century and that there has been a prolonged period of a lack of maintenance. This has resulted in many areas of the building being rotten, and leaking water has also penetrated the building in several places, making it uneconomical to repair.
The demolition would be followed by the construction of steel portal frame for the one-and-a-half storey building which will be clad with composite PIR panels. This, it is said, is in keeping with the cladding to the Pier house opposite and the same colour as the cladding on the Lamlash yacht club.
The planning statement adds: ‘The commercial nature of the existing building will be maintained and enhanced by increasing area. Planning blight at the rear of building will be removed and replaced with clean modern lines with a building in good condition and accommodation above for the proprietor.’
The application is under consideration by the North Ayrshire Council planning department.