A Crieff woman has been thwarted in an attempt to convert the premises of her collapsed business into a home.
Campbell Construction (Crieff) Limited – run by locals Alistair Campbell and Tamara Campbell – was liquidated in September 2021.
The Courier reported that its demise left a couple £55,000 out of pocket for an unfinished extension.
Now Perth and Kinross Council has blocked Tamara Campbell’s application to convert the company’s former base at 51 Comrie Street into a flat.
Alterations to shopfront planned
Her application sought to convert the use of the ground-floor office and store into residential use.
A plan indicated that a self-contained one bedroomed unit would have been created to the front, Comrie Street side of the building.
A further, large storage and games room would have been formed to the rear.
Alterations to the exterior of the shopfront to form the main living area were also proposed.
Conservation and size concerns
Neighbour Oliver Lewis raised concerns.
“The proposed treatment of the historic shopfront is contrary to policies protecting the character and appearance of the conservation area.
“However, we note that this issue could be overcome by retaining the historic shopfront in full.
“In addition, we wish to raise concerns regarding the size of the proposed residential unit.
“It falls well below the effective minimum standards for permanent residential use, leading us to the observation that its ultimate use would likely be as a short-term let.
“Which carries with it a very different impact on residential amenity compared to that deriving from a permanent residence.”
Scheme ‘would create two units’
The council’s planning department concurred with this comment and refused the proposal.
The officer report claimed the scheme would effectively create two distinct residential units that would constitute over-development.
It was further asserted that the exterior works would fail to preserve the character of the conservation area.
Finally, the report said: “Insufficient supporting information has been provided to demonstrate that the unit is no longer viable in its current form.”
The residential property above is in different ownership, and subject to a separate planning application to convert two flats into a single home.
‘Devastation’ at incomplete job
The Courier reported in January that a Dunblane couple were left “devastated” by the collapse of Campbell Construction.
In May 2021 they accepted a quote from the firm of almost £200,000.
The job was to replace a double garage with a two-storey extension containing kitchen, living area, office and roof space.
They paid the company £55,000 but it went bust before the job was complete.
“That was £8,000 of work carried out but we had paid them more than £55,000,” the husband said.
“There’s no comeback for companies like this and it’s disgraceful that they can get away with it.
“We are devastated.”
