Alford housing development goes to appeal after objection from Balfluig Castle owner
The owner of an Aberdeenshire castle has lodged a further objection against plans to construct five new homes near his historic building.
Fintray-based N&MLD Ltd gained planning permission to build the houses at Meikle Endovie earlier this year.
They also got the go-ahead to convert a bothy and stables into another property.
However, despite this, they have taken their application to the Scottish Government to appeal a condition issued by Aberdeenshire Council.
Lysander Tennant, owner of Balfluig Castle near Alford, had previously objected to the proposed steading conversion and new residential development.
He maintains his opposition and has now raised concerns about the competency of the appeal and wants it to be looked at thoroughly by Scottish Ministers.
N&MLD Ltd is asking for the condition, which centres around the required noise level of air source heat pumps, to be removed.
It states that sound from the pumps must not exceed 37 decibels in order to prevent any noise nuisance to neighbours.
Council planners had added the request due to an upcoming change to the technical requirements for heat pumps.
However, the applicants believe the condition is “unreasonable” because it casts doubt over the ability of the approved and proposed units to meet the condition.
The pumps included in the planning application were within a 42 decibel range, the installation standard at the time it was approved.
Project architect Colin Thompson said the housing development would bring the “deteriorated” 19th century farmstead back to life after lying empty for the last decade.
And, council planners welcomed the plan, saying it would “suitably transform the redundant site to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing development”.
However, Mr Tennant disagrees.
The historic A-listed Balfluig Castle dates back to 1550, and is just 700 metres away from the proposed housing development.
He believes the new homes would have a negative impact on the castle and its setting.
His concerns also included potential over-development of the site, impact on amenity, the design of the new homes and materials to be used.
Mr Tennant also claims the council did not consider planning rules around preserving buildings of “special architectural or historic interest”.
The appeal is now with the Scottish Government and will be considered in the coming months.