A Perthshire bowling club, which has been abandoned since 2017, will not be demolished and replaced with housing.
A private developer approached council planners in September with blueprints which involved flattening Scone Bowling Club to build four homes, telling council officers they saw a “lack of demand” for a bowling green in the village.
Eleven written letters of objection were sent by local residents and community groups, all calling for the council to reject the proposals.
Scone Community Council said it has “a number of strong objections” to the plans for the overgrown clubhouse.
Secretary Hazel MacKinnon’s letter cited traffic fears, loss of privacy and a lack of adherence to the the adopted Local Development Plan (LDP).
It also highlighted the protection in place for sporting venues, even those closed for some time.
She wrote: “Considerable concerns have been raised within the local community regarding the loss of outdoor sports facilities, especially in light of the increased housing in within Scone permitted by consents already granted.
“While we are aware that the bowling club has not operated for some time, it is a facility which should be retained for potential reopening and the land involved is a vital part of the open green spaces within the village and should be retained as such.
“Any policy of developing more and more land, within the environs of the village, is reducing the greenspace available for use by village residents and should be resisted as it is detrimental to health and general welfare of the local population.”
SportScotland was consulted over the potential loss of a sports facility and staff carried out an investigation into the impact of demolition on Scone.
The agency’s Gillian Kyle said: “Given that there are other bowling clubs in the area with the capacity to recruit new members, it is considered that the loss of this facility would not impact on bowling provision in this area.”
Perth and Kinross Council’s head of planning David Littlejohn wrote to the East Lothian-based agent acting on behalf of developer Joe Bryce to say the development will not be granted permission.
Mr Littlejohn said on top of breaching the LDP, the proposed homes would not have adequate garden space, would contribute to overdevelopment and “insufficient ecological survey work has been provided to demonstrate the presence of protected species” at the club.
