Travellers play for time on St Cyrus caravan site - Aberdeenshire

From the Courier

Travellers have admitted they are “buying time” after withdrawing controversial plans for a St Cyrus caravan site just hours before they were due to be recommended for refusal.

The group has been in residence at the site without permission for the past six months.

Edinburgh-based architect and town planning consultant Forbes Rowan-Spencer Marr said the group pulled the plug on their retrospective planning applications at the 11th hour after getting wind that Aberdeenshire Council planning officers had recommended the council refuse the proposals.

The group of travelling families, working with Mr Marr’s advice, will now examine the concerns, which would have been announced by the council, in a bid to re-apply.

Mr Marr said: “We are investigating all the planning concerns with a view to reapplying. Part of my advice was that they withdraw as a result of an unfinished consultation which was heading for refusal on the grounds of flood risk.

“At the moment the parties concerned have withdrawn with a view to re-submitting once we have addressed the terms of the flood risk assessment. What we are really doing is buying time in an effort to resolve these issues.”

Travellers James McCallum and William Docherty dramatically ditched their retrospective planning applications for a permanent gypsy caravan site and turning station after discovering planning officers were set to refuse the divisive plans and recommended the council follow suit.

That recommendation was backed by three out of the four of the locally elected members for the area, George Carr, Bill Howatson and Jean Dick.

Independent member Dave Stewart referred the decision to full council without approving or refusing the objections.

The decision to retract the plans, almost six months to the day since the travelling families first moved their caravans and heavy working gear on to the site, has cast a veil of uncertainty over the future of the area.

A spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “The council, through following its processes for determination, were close to making a decision on both planning applications relating to the Travellers site developments adjacent to Eskview Farm, St Cyrus.

“However, before these decisions could be formally issued, the applicants withdrew the planning applications.”

The spokeswoman added: “The applicants have intimated their intention to resubmit the applications, in order to try and address some of the issues of concern which have been raised by the council.”

The plans were set to be refused on the back of a flood risk assessment carried out by engineering firm Fairhurst, concerns over the site being developed in a coastal zone, its conflicts with council policy and its impact on residential amenity.

The flood risk report stated: “The site was found to be at risk of fluvial flooding associated with the North Esk during the 200 year event, with predicted flood depths within the site ranging up to 0.5m.

“The inherent flexibility of the proposed development means that it may be possible to provide sufficient mitigation at the site to accommodate the residential units. This could be achieved without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

“Dry access cannot be achieved in the 200yr event due to the level restrictions associated with the public road. Other existing properties will be similarly affected.

“It may be possible to set up management procedures, such as responding to SEPA flood warnings/alerts which could limit the risk to residents.”

Councillor George Carr said the decision to withdraw the plans was “disappointing” and added that anyone who had responded to the now redundant applications will have to do so again if new ones are submitted.

“It is disappointing that this is just going to cause more delay and it just means that the whole process is going to have to start all over again,” said Mr Carr.

“All the letters and objections that people submitted are now redundant and if people have views that they want to put forward then they will have to resubmit them on the basis that they will have new applications.”

Mr Marr’s design company has handled a number of planning applications from the travelling community in the past, including one to Aberdeenshire Council in April 2010 for a five stance permanent site with associated facilities at Dunnlay Heights in Portlethen.

The application was refused by the local authority in March 2011, as it conflicted with a number of objectives of the local plan, but an appeal was lodged in May 2011.

The council’s local review body dismissed the appeal in January 2012, almost two years after the application was first lodged.