A line has finally been drawn under a near 20-year saga over a so-called Steptoe house in an Angus village.
But Angus Council is still unlikely to see any of the £30,000-plus it spent on two direct action clean-ups at the Broomwell Gardens cottage in Monikie which was once crammed with everything from bricks to boats.
Now, with around 150 tonnes of material having been removed from the property and its surrounds, Angus development standards committee councillors have finally agreed to remove an amenity notice that has been in existence for more than a decade, leaving the current owners unhindered in their ambition to have the house renovated and on the market by next spring.
A bid to keep the pressure on the new developer by leaving the amenity notice hanging over their head for another six months failed after one councillor said the current condition of the under-renovation house was better than many sites in Angus and could open the floodgates if the authority was to pursue the owners of every untidy garden.
The complex history of the corner property – originally a cottage believed to have been the home of James Scott Skinner, a famous fiddler known as the Strathspey King – has involved enforcement, direct action and sequestration of its convicted fraudster former owner since it first came onto Angus Council’s radar around 2002.
Current developer Eleanor Gledhill told committee members they had taken another 100 tonnes of material off the site since buying the house in 2014.
“We specialise in properties that have been vacant for a number of years which we want to see brought back into use and the amenity notice is serving no purpose,” she said.
“We have another couple of projects and our schedule is to put this on the market in April next year. It wouldn’t be in our interests not to continue with these works – we want to see it finished as much as you do,” added Mrs Glendhill.
Committee convener, Councillor Rob Murray said: “This site is no worse than others throughout Angus where alterations or extensions are going on.
“If we continue with the amenity notice for this site we would have to go round Angus and start applying notices everywhere.”
Montrose councillor Bill Duff added: “We are effectively penalising the current owner for the misdeeds of the previous owner doing good work in bringing an old and derelict property back into use.
“If we keep this amenity notice in place we would have to go around the countryside slapping others on every similar property and that would be a waste of time and public money.”
Carnoustie councillor Bill Bowles attempted to secure a six-month extension of the notice, but failed to find a seconder for his bid.
“This whole thing has actually been going on for nearly 20 years and I would suggest another few months to make sure things are completely tidied up,” he said.
