A Perthshire businessman says he has faced four years of “torture” after plans to build a home on his land were rejected – forcing his family into his mum’s one-bedroom flat.
Ross Townsley, who owns roofing business Roof Care, had plans to build a house on refused by council officials in May – and rejected again by councillors on appeal.
The 34-year-old claims he has now been left in “turmoil” after Perth and Kinross Council ordered him to remove the caravan he has been living in for several years, as he did not have planning permission.
Ross says he wanted to build the house to give his family more space and provide security for his business at Balthayock, near Kinfauns.
Family in ‘turmoil’ after Balthayock appeal decision
As a result of the planning wrangle, Ross – along with daughters Charley, two and, Ellie, seven – have moved into his mum’s home in Methven.
He told The Courier: “I’ve been sleeping on the sofa while my two daughters have been sleeping on a blow-up mattress on the floor.
“My family life has been turned upside down.
“My kids go to school in Scone, which is just seven minutes away [from the caravan].
“Now we’re in Methven, I have to finish work early to pick them up and get them back.
“It’s just turmoil – a total nightmare.
“The whole thing is torture. We have been settled here, there’s never been an environmental or police issue.
“We’ve lived here in peace and quiet, no one bothered us, and we never bothered anyone.”
What has happened since Ross inherited the land?
Ross moved into a small caravan on the site in 2017 after inheriting the land from his father and replaced it with a larger caravan in 2018.
He applied for planning permission in principle for a mobile home, as the land did not have permission to be lived on, but this was refused.
In June 2021 he was given notice by the council to remove the caravan, which he unsuccessfully appealed with the Scottish Government.
In February Ross applied to replace the caravan with a house, which was also refused.
Now, his appeal has been thrown out by councillors due to the green belt nature of the land.
Lack of security could leave business vulnerable
Roof Care employs 11 people and Ross says he now has to move his business as he can no longer protect it from break-ins and theft.
He said: “There have been a lot of break-ins here in the last few years.
“We have cameras but if I’m not around thieves will be gone by the time I get here.
“If I lose tools and materials from that shed, the business could go bust.
“A business has been here for 18 years, but I’m in the process of moving it now.
“I’m going to have to rent units now, whereas I used to be able to have storage for free because I own the land.”
Councillors on the local review body moved to uphold the council’s original decision last week by a single vote.
At the meeting, convener Bob Brawn and councillor Hugh Anderson both voted to against the appeal.
The deciding vote then fell to councillor Hugh Anderson, who voted with the convener to uphold refusal.
However, councillor Richard Watters voted in favour – expressing sympathy for Ross’s situation.
He said: “Having been a councillor in a rural area for a number of years I know thefts are opportunistic.”
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