A 20-year battle to breathe new life into an abandoned Perthshire church has taken another step forward after the latest plans were given the green light.
A fresh application to transform C-listed Kinfauns Church into a luxury home was submitted to Perth and Kinross Council in July.
The detailed plans reveal a four-bedroomed house featuring a jacuzzi and sauna in the two-level master bedroom and transformation of the bell tower into a viewing platform.
Initial planning permission was secured last year, despite opposition from people with connections to the building and graveyard.
The new plans were approved by Perth and Kinross Council last week but officials refused a plan for two parking spaces outside the church.
The move comes after members of the public expressed concern about access to the church’s graveyard, the local war memorial and the ability to turn their own cars on the narrow road.
A report to the council stated: “The applicant proposes two parking spaces at the eastern end of Church Road, which is unadopted for maintenance purposes.
“The road is nonetheless a public right of way over which all users have a right of access. In this case access is required to the war memorial and turning area, so the proposed parking spaces are not acceptable.
“For this reason, the submitted site plan is not approved, and permission is not granted for parking spaces on any part of the public road to be used exclusively as part of the proposed development.”
The plans have been controversial since first mooted 20 years ago, with campaigners fighting to preserve the building. They argued that turning it into a private house would lead to the “desecration” of a nearby cemetery.
Proposals were rejected four times on the grounds it would be incompatible with the graveyard.
The most recent attempt, lodged in 2011, drew scores of objections from local residents. However, it was approved following an appeal to the Scottish Government.
Campaigner Lady Tanya Lowson welcomed the concession on parking but expressed her disappointment that the plans had been approved.
She said: “I think the whole thing is so ghastly when you imagine how many people are buried there.
“It went to the Scottish Secretary three times, and once we’d lost there could be no objections. But when they lost they were able to continue harassing the issue. That doesn’t say much for the law.
“My husband’s grandfather built the bell tower and a put in a window to commemorate his son, who died in the First World War. We’ve never even been offered the window back so we can put it in another church.
“The whole church was donated by local families. The plans look lovely, but it’s our church and we would have gone on fighting.”
The property was sold by the Church of Scotland in 1991, but has lain empty ever since.
