A Perthshire man may pull out of his purchase of a £215,000 Pitlochry flat after the council snubbed his idea to use it for a short-term let.
Ian Lewis, who lives in the Perthshire village, submitted an offer to buy a home in Jubilee Place and run it as a holiday home, subject to planning approval.
The property, which is currently owned Brian Quail, has been used as a self-catering holiday property since 2015.
Despite this, Perth and Kinross Council refused the retrospective application, leaving Ian to mull over his bid.
Pitlochry move in doubt after short-term let refused
A frustrated Ian told The Courier: “We became interested in the property in April-time and it was being marketed as more or less a self-catering unit.
“It was exactly what we were looking for, but we realised that we’d need planning permission and licencing approval and we were turned down at the last moment.
“We made an offer subject to planning consent – if we don’t get permission we won’t go ahead.”
The 79-year-old building consultant, who has previously owned self-catering accommodation, may appeal the decision.
The council’s decision report claimed allowing the flat to be run as a short-term let would have a detrimental impact on the area.
It said any economic benefits would not outweigh the loss of residential accommodation.
Ian added: “I think they are clutching at straws with some of the reasons they’ve given to reject it.
“They are maybe legitimate straws in that it’s written into planning policy.
“It was ignored that 36 neighbours, or anyone else, didn’t object and there haven’t been complaints in the last eight years.
“They are saying it could risk the amenity and that there is a car parking problem, but they’ve raised these issues quite illicitly and haven’t checked the figures.
“It ignores that Pitlochry is a tourist centre.
“I’ve got an appeal ready to go but I want to see if the sellers have any objection to that first out of courtesy – it’s not our property.”
Owner has hosted ‘hundreds of people’
The owner of the property, Brian Quail has also been left frustrated by the situation.
He added: “It’s been a disgrace.
“If me and someone else want to make a property deal we should be able to do that.
“Everything has been perfect and I’ve never had a single complaint in the nine years I’ve had it.
“Pitlochry has benefitted from the hundreds of people that have stayed here and I have a book of comments from over the years from people that have stayed here.
“I’m annoyed as I’ve met the couple and I think they’d have really enjoyed running this business.
“These new rules make us fill in loads of forms and add bureaucracy and I didn’t want to go through all that.
“I now might have to find a new buyer and put it back on the market – it’s unacceptable.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We have considered the local development plan and all other material considerations and made a decision on the application on that basis.
“A report of handling accompanies the decision.
“Should the applicant be unhappy with the decision to refuse, they are entitled to appeal this to the council’s local review body.”
Elsewhere in the region, a short-term let in Perth also failed to gain planning permission after receiving six objections.
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