Council bosses in Perth and Kinross have prevented two women in Pitlochry from setting up a childminding business in their home over flooding concerns.
The proposal has been rejected despite co-applicant Lois Brown already living in the property.
Her supporting statement, submitted as part of a planning application, claimed a childminding firm was “sorely needed” in the Perthshire town due to two businesses shutting down.
Ms Brown and her friend had hoped to spread the word about their new business – called L&H Childminding LLP – through Facebook and word of mouth.
However, their proposal for Dalshian House in Old Perth Road was rejected after the environment agency Sepa said it “may put people or property at risk of flooding.”
Childminding idea thrown out over flood risk
In a statement, Sepa said: “We object in principle to the application and recommend that planning permission is refused.
“Based on the Sepa future flood naps, the entirety of the site is shown to be at risk of flooding from the River Tummel.
“Concurrently, two small watercourses are shown to the north and east of the site, which are not captured within the fluvial flood maps due to the small catchment sizes involved.
“This does not indicate that there is no risk of flooding from these sources.”
The statement added that several homes in the area were flooded in August 2002.
The area around Dalshian House itself was flooded in January 2016 “due to heavy rain and swollen rivers, which necessitated the presence of the fire service,” it continued.
‘We are appealing the decision’
Ms Brown, 31, said the second incident of flooding was only in the bottom corner of the garden and that the house was unaffected.
She plans to appeal the decision.
She told The Courier: “We are greatly disappointed about getting our planning permission for our childminding business rejected.
“We have worked hard on getting our business off the ground; [we have] applied via the Care Inspectorate and have passed the first stage of our application.
“We needed to apply for planning permission as we are doing the business as a partnership.
“If we had been doing it as a single application then planning permission would not be required.
“Sepa have said that they have rejected our application as the property has a flood risk, although the property has never been flooded.
“Pitlochry has a need for childminders as in the last two months one has retired and another has moved away from the area.
“It has already cost us £600 for the planning application, plus our Care Inspectorate fees.
“This process has been ongoing since May.
“We are appealing the decision and are contacting local councillors to see if they can offer us any help or advice.”
Pitlochry property was highly-rated bed and breakfast
Up to 12 children would have been looked after in the detached property.
Perth and Kinross Council planning officers had no concerns about the impact on neighbours.
But its decision report said: “The conflicts relating to land use vulnerability, with flood risk concerns, lead to the position that the part change of use itself cannot be supported.”
The property was previously a highly-rated bed and breakfast before changing hands in September 2021 for £600,000.
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