A Perthshire community group has applied to create a daytime cafe and bar that would stay open until midnight at weekends.
Glenfarg Community Centre wants to extend the ground floor area of the Greenbank Road building previously known as the Old Schoolhouse.
The building is directly adjoined to the existing village hall and both are now collectively known as the Glenfarg Community Centre.
The extension would house café seating and fitted furniture in a coffee shop arrangement.
A supporting statement said: “The café offer would be operational during the day, capturing passing trade to the high street and those walking through the park areas.
“Later in the day and into the evening the space would offer use as a bar, offering linkage to the main hall at times of events and offering a social space to local residents during other times.
“It was noted that with the recent closure of other hospitality venues within Glenfarg, the locale would benefit from a small-scale community-run venue, as has been widely seen as a successful operational model in neighbouring rural areas.”
“The café and bar offer is proposed to provide a capacity of around 60 people at peak times, with a number of separately demarcated areas offering individual identities.”
The cafe’s proposed opening hours would be Mondays to Saturdays from 9.30am to 4pm.
The bar would be open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from noon to 11pm, and noon to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
These hours would be subject to a licensing application.
Nine objections fail to halt Pitlochry holiday lets
Planning permission has been granted for two short-term lets in Pitlochry.
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning and placemaking Committee approved an application for the historic Lagreach Cottage to be transformed into one- and two-bedroom units.
The 19th-century stone cottage is accessed by a lane just off Atholl Road on the western edge of the town.
It has lain empty for the past five years.
Prior to that, it was used as staff accommodation for a local hotel for 15 years.
There were nine objections to the plans.
Concerns raised included an “overpopulation of holiday lets and lack of long term accommodation” as well as fears of partying, noise, rubbish and loss of privacy.
The applicant argued the property was “not fit for habitation in its current state” and required heavy investment on top of the substantial sum paid for the property.
Lagreach was on the market for offers over £450,000.
Councillors voted to approve by six votes to four.
Flat may be built above car park in Perth city centre
A plan has been lodged for a flat to be built above an existing car park in Perth city centre.
Omar Fumey has applied to create the accommodation on land 15 metres south Of 15 – 19 Cow Vennel, on the junction with Canal Street.
Parking would remain underneath.
Mr Fumet’s supporting statement said: “Originally four one-bedroom flats were planned for this site.
“However, this was deemed overdevelopment.
“The raised flat with parking under was a solution to provide accommodation with parking for neighbouring businesses that the client owns.
“Also due to the narrow nature of Cow Vennel, privacy would be an issue with ground-floor accommodation.”
Perth and Kinross Council will determine the planning application.
Bridge of Earn homes revamp refused
A proposal to amend the design of 37 homes in Bridge of Earn has been refused.
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee last year approved an application from Scotia Homes for 110 homes south-west of Kintillo Cemetery.
But the developer’s plan to reposition and resize 37 of the plots has been deemed unacceptable after seven objections were raised.
The council’s refusal statement said: “The house types are larger and their heights are increased, some 1.4m higher than those approved, reaching a maximum height of 8.7m.
“The proposed house types are generally deeper, two storeys in height with shallower roof pitches.”
It added: “The main areas of concern are with the increased height, amendment to shift the development further south resulting in dwellinghouses not only straddling the ridge, the highest part of the site, but also extending built development outwith the settlement boundary.”
The new-look homes would exceed the height of neighbouring properties in Dunbarney Avenue and The Meadows, the statement continued.
Officers also felt the removal of parking courts for integrated garages would result in “car-dominated street frontages”.
Scotia Homes’ supporting statement said: “The shift towards traditional plot layouts with deeper house types, integral garages, front or side driveways and larger gardens is driven by changes in current market conditions and housing demand.”
340 Perth homes approved despite racism fears
Councillors have agreed plans for 340 new homes on the edge of Perth, despite warnings they could lead to “racism and discrimination” against residents at the nearby Double Dykes Gypsy Traveller site.
Barratt won approval to build 292 houses and 48 flats, with sports pitches and a pavilion, at Ruthvenfield this week.
The housebuilder is taking over from the collapsed Stewart Milne Group, which received planning permission for the site in 2021.
Barratt needed councillors to approve a number of amendments to the previous plans to reflect its own house types.
And Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee agreed to the changes last week.
However, there were 25 objections to the planning application.
And a number raised concerns about the impact on the Double Dykes Gypsy Traveller site.
Here are the links to the planning papers for the Perth and Kinross applications
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