A pleasure boat operator who spent thousands of pounds repairing one of Newburgh’s historic piers without authorisation has finally anchored his planning battle.
Dennis Beattie, who ferries passengers up and down the Tay for leisure and fishing, found himself at the centre of a storm when he levelled the quayside and constructed a stone wall and railings at Cameron’s pier without seeking permission.
While some in the town were pleased with his work, others complained that the structure was out of keeping with the rest of the waterfront and one councillor said it looked like something that would be found along the Thames.
Outraged, Mr Beattie was refused retrospective planning permission by councillors then a Scottish Government reporter who deemed the design and materials used incongruous and unduly prominent.
But he was relieved when Fife Council’s North East planning committee approved a revised scheme earlier this week, which involves changes to some of the work carried out on the pier, removal of the railings and rendering of the wall.
While there remained several objections to his latest proposal, a petition stating he had improved the look and safety of the historic pier by East Shore House gathered more than 320 signatures.
Mr Beattie thanked those who had supported him and said: “It has been a long battle. In the beginning I was told informally that I didn’t need planning permission, then all of a sudden I did.
“I’m elated this has been approved.”
Due to illness, Mr Beattie said he had run only a few trips this year on the Maid of the Tay in aid of Rachel House and cancer charities.
But he intends to run more trips next year, possibly buying another boat and making the pier accessible to disabled passengers.
Mr Beattie said: “Just now I can’t get anyone on the boat who has a wheelchair. It’s unfair that if you are disabled you can’t take a trip up the Tay.”
The consent issued by the council also allows creation of a seasonal, floating pontoon accessed by a pedestrian gangplank anchored to the pier wall.
Cameron’s pier is one of several in Newburgh in urgent need of major repairs. It was in industrial use from the early 1900s until being decommissioned in the 1970s and left to fall into disrepair.
Howe of Fife and Tay Coast councillor David MacDiarmid, who previously voiced his shock at a “fairly large redevelopment” better suited to the Thames than the Tay, said he was satisfied with the alterations that were unanimously approved.