Pennan Conservation status report put on hold
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A review of the Pennan conservation area will be put on hold to allow further consultation with residents.
Consultation on the review started in 2019 but it was hit with delays due to the pandemic.
A survey was sent out to local residents back in July but many said their letters arrived late meaning they missed the deadline to return their feedback.
Members of the Banff and Buchan area committee agreed to defer the review earlier this week.
They said the paper was “not timely and not appropriate” and believed it needed to be looked at again before moving forward.
Councillor Glen Reid said the proposed changes could cause “stress and anxiety” to residents amid the cost of living crisis.
Any upgrade works to properties in a conservation area must follow specific planning guidelines to “preserve and enhance” the buildings and character of the zone.
This means that only certain materials may be allowed when homeowners are looking to install new windows or doors which may come at a higher price than standard uPVC.
Councillor Glen Reynolds said only a dozen full-time residents still live in Pennan – including himself.
The SNP councillor believes that increasing costs to upkeep properties could see residents moving away from the historic village.
“The cost element would be entirely prohibitive causing a lot of stress and concern to people,” he explained.
“Some people simply will not be able to afford it. It will mean large scale work.”
He added: “The beating heart of a community are the people that live in it.
“It’s important that we get the property side absolutely right but overall its about the nature of the community, the resilience and bringing people in that have the potential to live, work, play and love in the community.”
Mr Reynolds also said that the proposed plan could lead to a rise in Airbnbs as homeowners flee over increasing costs.
He explained: “What is happening in Pennan, which is happening elsewhere, is that people are moving out.
“We’re having AirBnBs, empty properties and people who are here today and gone tomorrow and the village ends up being abandoned.
“That is not a beating heart that we want.”
Film fans have flocked to the village since it starred in the 1982 Bill Forsyth comedy.
Exterior shots were filmed in Pennan including those of the film’s fictional Macaskill Arms hotel and the village’s famous red phone box.
Fellow SNP councillor Ross Cassie moved a motion to defer the review to allow further consultation with residents.
He noted that Pennan and Crovie were “good examples of conservation” but added “conservation doesn’t necessarily mean creating a living museum”.
Following discussion, the committee unanimously agreed to extend the consultation process.
