Controversial plans to raze Kinross hotel abandoned by firm

McCarthy & Stone ditches £4m Windlestrae proposal

Developers have abandoned controversial plans to demolish a oncethriving Tayside hotel.

Retirement homes specialist McCarthy & Stone confirmed it is ditching its £4 million bid to redevelop the Windlestrae venue at Kinross.

The firm sparked anger with its plan to clear the 55-acre site to make way for more than 30 homes. The specialised accommodation was meant to help cope with the area’s soaring older population.

Kinross-shire Civic Trust was among the objectors, arguing against loss of mature trees in the hotel grounds and claiming the building could be adapted for future use instead of demolished.

The hotel, which was part of the Crieff Hydro chain, closed in October.

A spokeswoman for the developers said: “Following a strategic review by McCarthy & Stone last year, we are no longer pursuing any new developments within Scotland and have permanently withdrawn our plans for the Windlestrae Hotel site in Kinross.”

The company said it had decided to quit Scotland after a sharp drop in profits. It has formally withdrawn its planning application for the site.

The decision has come as a relief to the hotel’s former owner Terrance Doyle who campaigned to save the site.

“I built this hotel and it was built to last for 100 years,” he said. “It’s a great asset for the community, but it has been grossly neglected over the years.

“I had a walk through the site with some former guests just the other day, and there were some tears about the fact it was going to be demolished.”

About £2m was invested in the building during the 1990s.

Kinross Community Council had opposed the plan, claiming it represented an “overdevelopment”.

Acting secretary Dave Cuthbert said: “We estimated from the drawings that the site extends to some 1.2 hectares. This gives a density of housing as roughly 30 units per hectare and we considered this excessive.”

It is understood the 50-bedroom hotel was on the market for several years, but failed to attract much interest.

McCarthy & Stone had backed up its proposal with statistics from the Tay Strategic Development Plan. It stated that the population of residents over 65 increased by 56.2% between 2002 and 2015 in the Kinross area.

The company also said the development would boost the local economy by £3.6m.

There were some tears about the fact it was going to be demolished. TERRANCE DOYLE