Perth and Kinross Council has blocked a proposal to improve wedding facilities at a historic castle.
Owner Andrew Thiepland’s planning application to extend a holiday let on the grounds of Fingask Castle, near Rait, has been refused.
The former laundry was converted into Gean Tree Cottage by a family member of Richard Marner, who played Colonel Kurt von Strohm in the 1980s sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo.
It became holiday accommodation after the actor died in March 2004, aged 82.
Marner is commemorated by a plaque on the grounds.
Idea to add bedroom at Fingask Castle
Fingask Castle is a popular wedding venue set in lush grounds in the Carse of Gowrie.
The proposal was to boost the offering of the B-listed cottage by adding another bedroom with an en-suite shower room.
A supporting statement said: “There are two bedrooms at the moment with a single bathroom with a shower.
“Another bedroom would make the house more attractive to visitors to the events, weddings and as a holiday let, which it is at the moment for which there is considerable demand.”
Perth and Kinross Council turns down wedding proposal
But council planners said the extension’s “proportions, position and inappropriate design, would result in an awkward addition.”
Its decision statement added: “Which would have an adverse impact upon the character and architectural and historic interest of the category B-listed former laundry building.”
The statement also criticised a proposal to include solar panels on the extension, claiming they would “have an overwhelming, visually intrusive and incongruous appearance.”
‘Allo ‘Allo star Richard Marner had glittering career
Russian-born Marner is also famed for a role in a stage version of Dracula, with Howard Dean, that is regarded by some as the definitive interpretation of the role.
He also had big-screen roles in The Dirty Dozen, Ice Cold in Alex, The One That Got Away, The Boys from Brazil, and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
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