A businessman is to appeal the “laughable” refusal of a flats conversion bid for an old Arbroath pub because of risk from a local burn – despite the building backing onto the town’s new £12 million flood protection scheme.
Nevada Mitchell applied to Angus Council to turn the Smugglers Tavern, which overlooks the town harbour, into two flats.
The pub once housed Europe’s largest collection of rums, but has been closed for a number of years.
Sepa and council objections
But Angus planners sunk the proposal when they refused the application under delegated powers.
It has now emerged both Sepa and the council’s own roads department lodged official objections to the plan on the grounds of potential flood risk.
Mr Mitchell, whose other businesses include the town’s popular Coast Restaurant and Nightclub, has branded the decision “laughable” in light of the recent completion of the multi-million pound flood project.
It was years in the planning and stretches the length of the Brothock Water from Letham Grange to its mouth at the town seafront – including running past the old pub.
The scheme was designed to give 1-in-200-year protection to 500 Arbroath homes and prevent more than £800,000 worth of flood damage each year.
But Sepa says an additional protection factor must now be built in for climate change.
It says the gable end of the Smugglers is acting as a de facto flood wall because the new scheme does not feature any extra defences there.
The environmental agency fears a similar situation to a flood incident in Hawick in 2020 when a 200-year-old guest house collapsed into the River Teviot.
And they warned the application would be referred to the Scottish Government if the council decided to grant it.
Businessman’s frustration
The decision has left 50-year-old businessman Mr Mitchell asking if the flood scheme is fit for purpose.
“This property has been lying there like a rotten tooth in the area for years,” he said.
“I’ve a few businesses in the town and I work hard to build them up and make Arbroath a place people want to come to.
“But it’s not sustainable as a pub and I wanted to turn it into two Air BnB properties.
“Arbroath is the biggest town in Angus but is severely lacking accommodation – there are only nine rooms in the town folk can come to.
“The flood wall comes right along towards the pub, but they have stopped short.
“All they needed to do was build it up another metre and that would have given us more than enough protection.
“I wonder if they just ran out of cash and didn’t have enough to do it.
“They are the experts and designed it to give this 1-in-200-year protection – but now they say it isn’t enough.
“In the meantime my hands are tied with this building I can do nothing with.
“There is already a flat above but we wanted to really transform the building.
“We’ll not be giving up on this one, to me it’s unfathomable how stupid this refusal decision is.”
Mr Mitchell’s next port of call is to lodge an appeal with the council’s development management review committee.
The five-member body considers appeals against delegated decisions made by planning officials.
Earlier this month it overturned a refusal ruling to clear the way for a farmer to build the second crematorium in Angus on land at Duntrune.
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