An Angus naturist has won the right to continue “sunbathing in the buff” when a new school is built close to his back yard.
Muirfield Primary School will swap places with its playing fields in an £8.7m move as part of the Arbroath Schools Project after it was approved unanimously by councillors yesterday.
However, 74-year-old Antoni Bogulak, who lives near to the playing field, raised concerns with councillors at the committee meeting that he would no longer be able to relax nude in his garden as one of the windows in the school may overlook it.
He said: “I have been a naturist for 40 years and if this one window is in the line of sight of my garden then it will affect my ability to occasionally sunbathe in the buff.
“I have no need to cause offence so I would have no option but to stop being a naturist.
“It’s something I enjoy. If I can lie in the sun for an hour with no clothes on, it’s better than lying in a tight swimming costume.”
Councillors accepted Mr Bogulak’s fears and attached a condition that the window in question, which would be positioned in the stairwell of school, be frosted over.
The retiree shares the property with his wife, who he said does not share his appetite for naturism, and added that his objection was “just about privacy”.
“I wouldn’t want to worry anyone,” he said.
“But I obviously don’t want kids to be able to see through it and say ‘what’s that man doing?’
“It’s not my intention to scare parents or anyone.
“I’m not particularly happy with where the school is going in general but I also don’t want to have to stop being a naturist.”
The school development is part of a multi-million project to rebuild some of the town’s ageing primaries and will lead to a fall in the school’s capacity from 434 pupils to 335.
The plans are part of the second phase of the project, following the replacement Timmergreens and Warddykes schools which opened in 2016.
The local authority also plans to replace Hayshead, with a consultation ongoing for it to share a campus with St Thomas.
