Pitlochry council flats plan refused

Apr 19 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PLANS by Perth and Kinross Council for 12 affordable flats in the centre of Pitlochry were thrown into disarray by overwhelming opposition from members of the authority’s development control committee.

They heeded the welter of objections from local residents and organisations to the council’s design plans for the new one-bedroom flats on the site of former Perth and Kinross Council offices in Rie-Achan Road.

Contemporary

The proposal was to build the new flats on three levels within a contemporary design and include six car parking spaces on the site, which just lies within the boundary of Pitlochry’s conservation area.

Despite being recommended for approval by planning officers, it was the design of the block, particularly the prevalence of timber cladding, which attracted the fiercest opposition, including Pitlochry and Moulin Community Council and Pitlochry Civic Trust.

Addressing the committee, John Pearson, the community council’s planning convener, described the design “appalling” and out of character with the architecture of the conservation area.

Slamming the planning officers’ report, he told councillors: “The community council feels badly let down by the stance of Perth and Kinross Council who have failed to take our opinions on board.”

He added the design would “harm the character and appearance of the conservation area.”

Gordon Dilworth, convener of Pitlochry Civic Trust, also branded the proposed development inappropriate: “The design and materials do not relate well to the conservation area. It seriously detracts from the Victorian architecture.”

Rickety

Mr Dilworth went on to describe the design for the gables as “eccentric, distorted and rickety.”

In attempt to defend the architects, the council’s development quality manager Nick Brian told committee: “The architects have given a good modern contemporary interpretation of some of the traditional styles which appear in Pitlochry.

“There is no reason why a modern interpretation cannot be introduced into the conservation area.”

Development control convener Willie Wilson moved approval of the plan but failed to find a seconder, leaving the way open for Councillor Ian Campbell’s call for refusal to send the planners back to the drawing board.

The design was, asserted Councillor Campbell, “completely and utterly inappropriate for this particular area.”