Amber Light for Eco Village Scheme
At the final meeting of the Development Control Committee before P&K Council went into summer recess, a project submitted by former provost Alex Murray for an ‘eco village’ in Camserney was passed on a vote proposed by C’llr Eleanor Howie.
Claimed to be 100% carbon neutral, and fuelled by on-site renewable energy, seven holiday lodges and a communal building equipped for disabled use are to be intended for year-round rental.
The timber frame constructions, including a dwelling house for the eco village’s manager, were conditionally agreed - subject to the satisfactory resolution of sewage arrangements, safe road access issues and conservation concerns. |
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Nonplussed
Committee members of the Camserney Village Association, representing the residents of Camserney Village, declared themselves nonplussed by the PKC Planning Committee’s decision to approve the application which had been considered ‘unsuitable’ by Gordon McFarlane, P&K’s Development Quality Manager.
“The councillors have effectively torn up the principles underlying the Highland Area Local Plan (HALP),” the Association’s Secretary told Comment. “They have overridden the recommendations of their own officer, whose report indicated that the proposed development contravenes five policies in the Local Plan.
Possible Appeal
“Our Association believes it also contravenes another two policies – to do with conservation – and we are seeking advice on the best ways to mount an appeal.
“At the end of the day there is a real danger that such blatant overturning of principles - designed originally to protect the local community - will result in widespread speculative building, to the detriment of the environment.
Landscape Erosion
“We are aware that convenient labels like “eco” and “green tourism” mislead people into believing that the countryside will be protected,” the secretary continued.
“However, we have, as yet, seen no figures that clearly define the supposed benefits of “green tourism” to the area – while there are plenty of figures showing how local developers are steadily eroding the landscape that the tourists come to see.”
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