A bid to restore and renovate a Victorian care home on the Perthshire/Angus border has received planning approval.
Angus Council officials have given consent for work at Mundamalla, a former nursing home in Newtyle that was once marketed for £850,000. The site on Coupar Angus Road will be transformed into a single home by applicant Kay Hindmarsh.
The original two-storey traditional stone/slate building will be retained, while an extension added to the property in more recent years will be demolished.
At 7,000 square metres, the house will be significantly larger than those in the surrounding area, but has not been judged to be out of character.
It is surrounded by homes to the north, south and east, with agricultural land to the west.
A section in the planning report stated: “The proposed house is located a sufficient distance away from any of the surrounding houses (the closest being approximately 35m away) and there will, therefore, be no significant adverse impact on privacy or amenity through the change of use of the building.
“In terms of design, the only visible external alteration proposed is the demolition of the later extension to the original building.
“Whilst this extension is substantial, it is not of any visual or architectural value and its removal will improve the overall appearance of the original building by returning it back to its original state.”
In 2011, Mundamalla was targeted by thieves, who stole valuable fixtures from the empty building, including marble fireplaces and brass light fittings.
Priority Care Group bought the home from the previous operator in 2000 but it started making losses in 2005 and was no longer considered a viable option.
The 40-bed facility had housed the area’s elderly for more than 70 years before it was shut.
The planning report demands that large established trees on the south and west boundaries of the site should not be felled and that “attractive stone walls” to the south, east and west should also be retained intact.