A businessman’s bid to build two houses in the garden of his home near Letham has been thrown out by Angus planning review councillors.
Marco Macari wanted to use the huge garden at Fallady Cottage, Idvies to create plots for new four-bedroom homes for his children.
His plan would have seen new sites developed on either side of the existing countryside cottage.
The whole curtilage extends to more than 6,000 square metres.
And he said the size of the Fallady garden makes it currently unmanageable.
Each of the new houses would be one-and-a-half storey and served by private drainage systems.
His planning agents said: “Our client intends to build the proposed dwellings for their two offspring, all working for the same family business locally.
“As a currently unused gap site it represents an opportunity to provide owned, otherwise unaffordable, quality homes within the area in which they live and work.”
Principle of new houses rejected by Angus Council
But Angus officials said the application broke a host of rules in the planning book.
In March they rejected the principle of development because it was not consistent with either the Angus local development plan or national policy NPF4.
Mr Macari appealed the refusal to the council’s review body.
But he hit a brick wall of opposition this week as the committee unanimously backed the planning department’s decision.
It came after councillors visited the site to see the rural setting for themselves.
Committee convener Councillor Bill Duff said: “I was somewhat sympathetic on first reading the papers.
“Having visited the site and teased out some of the meaning of NPF4 clearly this would not be acceptable.
“It’s not a gap site, it’s not rounding off, it’s not for an essential worker.
“I don’t think there’s any grounds for upholding the appeal.”
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