The man behind an ambitious £100 million scheme to expand Crieff Hydro said he is “shocked” at Perth and Kinross Council rejecting the project, describing the decision as “disrespectful.”
Stephen Leckie, chief executive of Crieff Hydro and chair of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, claimed the local authority is not sending out the right signals to attract tourists to the area.
He is most angered by the fact the decision was taken under delegated powers, claiming there was “no consultation or communication” on the issue, and states the only course of action open is to resubmit another plan, at “considerable cost.”
The £100m plan would have seen 200 holiday lodges built along with a 100-bed care home, assisted living accommodation for a further 100 people as well as a gym, swimming pool, a large farm shop and café, on a site located west of Gilmerton.
The council’s ‘delegated’ report of the Crieff East plan states: “This report recommends refusal of the application as there is a lack of environmental information to support it.
“The applicant was advised of the shortcomings and further information was invited to support the environmental statement.”
The report continues: “There is an existing oversupply of residential care home beds across Perth and Kinross and adding further supply shall exacerbate this issue.
“In relation to the retail element, the scale of development does not suggest it will be ancillary to the rest of the project as the applicant suggests. And the description of it being a farm shop is also misleading.”
The proposal has been in the pipeline for three-and-a-half years and Mr Leckie claims the council have now rejected it mainly to “clear their desks.”
“I’m shocked by this decision and find it disrespectful that this was done under delegated powers,” he said.
“There was no consultation and no communication regarding this decision, which is not conducive to a good working relationship. The council knew we were about to submit a noise impact study so why could they not have waited two more days?
“This project has taken three-and-a-half years but it seems the council have made this decision to clear their desks – basically carried it out on a whim.”
He continued: “It’s been extremely tough for us economically and we have spent a six-figure sum on the plan. However, we will now have to resubmit this plan at more cost to us.
“What happened to Perthshire attracting tourists? This gives a message to people not to come to Perthshire as we say ‘no’ to entrepreneurs.
“We’ve had a whole wave washing over us economically so we’re amazed and shocked at the speed of this decision. Crieff Hydro has a staff of 1,200, we are ambitious and this Crieff East project fits in with our expansion plans.
“We are trying our best, but this decision is such a disappointment.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “The council’s planners have, over a significant period of time, liaised at length and in detail with the applicant’s agents regarding this in principle application, including provision of all information necessary for the application to be considered and determined in line with the normal planning process.
“The expectation from national government is that local authorities will determine major applications within 16 weeks wherever possible.”
She added: “The council has made repeated requests and given ample time for the relevant information to be provided. This was not forthcoming and the agents were subsequently advised of our intention to refuse the application on that basis.
“The council is clearly not party to any discussions they may have had with their client in that regard.”
