A watchdog has criticised plans to knock down a former Kinross-shire hotel.
The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland hit out at the latest bid to demolish the Lomond Inn in Kinnesswood, and was backed by the Kinross-shire Civic Trust in voicing its objections.
Fife company Limeblue Design and Build lodged a fresh application to raze the building in order to build five new houses on the Main Street site, which is located in a conservation area.
A previous application to demolish the hotel was opposed by Portmoak Community Council, the Kinross-shire Civic Trust and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland.
The society slated the latest proposal, calling the Lomond Inn an “iconic landmark”. It stated: “The conservation area of Kinnesswood covers a considerable area in the centre of the village. It is indeed the very nature of the positioning of these buildings that creates the simple vernacular character that is being protected by the conservation area status.
“At the centre of the development is the building known as the Lomond Inn. This building forms an iconic landmark in the streetscape, particularly for those entering the village from the south.
“It is the society’s belief that the Lomond Inn is a meritorious building within the setting of the conservation area and that the proposer has not met the requirement for a detailed consideration of the demolition of this building and its replacement.
“We also have to record our disappointment in being presented with yet another very poor application that requires us to comment on a proposal that fails to meet even the basic requirements for an application of this type.”
The Kinross-shire Civic Trust claims that Local Development Plan policy on demolition in conservation areas requires a “structural appraisal” to justify the move.
“A cursory appraisal accompanies a separate planning application but it states quite clearly that the building is structurally sound,” the trust said.
“The subsequent appraisals in the main application do nothing to further justify the demolition. The main application offers a building to replace the Lomond Inn, which is identical with two others in the proposal.”