Perth and Kinross Council face a legal challenge at one of the country’s top law courts from an enraged group of villagers who feel let down by the local authority.
Members of the Glenfarg Community Company have decided to take legal action against the council following the decision of their local review body in April which has given permission to the owner of the Glenfarg Hotel to convert the building into 12 flats.
The matter will be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in due course.
The long-running saga saw its latest twist when the local review body voted 2-1 in favour of overturning a previous refusal for the contentious flats proposal – thus evoking anger from scores of local residents.
And it’s now been confirmed that after “lengthy and in depth legal advice,” the Glenfarg Community Company will be seeking a judicial review into the decision, in a move understood to cost in the region of £40,000.
The community group have enlisted the services of a QC such is their determination to get the council decision overruled.
On Friday, Steve Whiting, a member of the Glenfarg Community Company, said: “I can confirm that after lengthy and in depth legal advice we will be seeking a judicial review into the decision made by the local review body regarding the Glenfarg Hotel.
“We do not believe it is fair and just that two local councillors are in a position to ignore the council’s planning officer’s professional conclusions and decision, more than 160 objections and numerous clauses in the council’s local development plan and approve a plan for our village hotel to be developed into a block of flats.”
He continued: “The council should be supporting communities to protect and maintain essential village businesses and amenities, not facilitate their closures.”
Glenfarg Hotel shut its doors in November last year when John Hewitt, who ran the building, claimed he had made “heavy” financial losses. He also alleged some local residents had made “malicious rumours” about himself and his family on social media.
A planning application to covert the hotel into 12 flats was lodged with the council in December by Arngask Hotels Ltd, of which Mr Hewitt is a director, but this led to 163 objections. The local authority rejected the plan in March on the basis that it was contrary to the council’s local development plan as well as being contrary to the Scottish Government’s planning policy.
However, this ruling was appealed and Perth and Kinross Council’s local review body then angered many Glenfarg residents by voting to overturn the planning officer’s recommendation to refuse the appeal.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council commented: “The council considers its local review body made a valid determination of this application. To date there has been no notice of any legal challenge but if proceedings are commenced it is anticipated that the council will defend the decision.”
