Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘We’re not talking about a Gyle shopping centre here’: Piperdam farm shop and steak barn wins planning appeal

The steak barn and farm shop plan was originally knocked back last December.
The steak barn and farm shop plan was originally knocked back last December.

A tourism-boosting Angus farm shop and steak barn project has been approved after councillors reversed a previous ruling blocking the bid.

Having twice delayed a decision on the project, Angus development management review committee voted overwhelmingly to uphold the Piperdam proposal planning appeal.

Forest Energy Scotland will create a farm shop, restaurant, biomass plant and staff house on the site at the north entrance of the popular leisure complex.

A graphic of the planned farm shop and restaurant.

The Mullin’s steak barn-branded proposal includes a 140-seater restaurant with two additional bothy rooms and outside seating, a 100-seat cafe and farm shop offering local produce.

Refusal

Angus planners initially rejected the scheme last year after officials criticised the project’s design.

Piperdam’s owners were among those who objected to the scheme.

But hundreds of letters of support were received, welcoming the prospect of a new business in the area.

The site sits at the entrance to Piperdam.

On Tuesday, the development management review committee reversed the delegated refusal decision.

Committee chairman Gavin Nicol said it would bring jobs and tourists to the area.

The authority’s own economic development unit had earlier signalled support for the venture.

“I am a strong supporter of rural businesses and I think this is an excellent project,” said Mr Nicol.

“It will be great for the area when it is up and running.”

Councillor Bill Duff said: “Policies applied here were drawn up pre-Brexit and pre-Covid.

“The world has changed and this development meets many of the aspirations of Angus Council.

“We want rural jobs and we want businesses that can cater for tourists.”

He pointed to successful farm food restaurant businesses in St Andrews and neighbouring Perthshire, saying Angus would do well to follow.

Competition

Mr Duff added: “We also need to be open for competition. The planning process is not there to protect the present vested interest.

“There is considerable public support for this.

“In my view the development will enhance Piperdam for visitors and locals.

“It’s a relatively modest development – we’re not talking about building a Gyle shopping centre here.”

Trees

Councillor Richard Moore registered his dissent against the green light.

He said: “We declared a climate emergency and this is land that has been cleared (of trees) and is supposed to be re-planted.

“It’s land where 22 mature trees will have to be felled and we will get 66 in exchange, but how many years will it be before they are anything like mature?”

Committee colleague Alex King replied: “The area of ground is crop woodland. I feel this site could usefully be turned into a commercial activity supporting tourism.

“We’re getting three times the trees back that we’re cutting down and some species can grow quite quickly.”