Aviemore flats would be ‘too dominant’
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A CONTROVERSIAL plan for 28 new flats on a prime Aviemore site has been turned down by the Cairngorms National Park's planning committee.
The decision came after a site visit to the area, on Grampian Road, by the members on recently.
An application for four separate apartment blocks comprising the new units had been recommended for refusal by planning officers on the basis that the design of the project did not fit in with the local townscape and character.
The development had been envisaged for the site of a former filling station to the south of the village, near two restaurants.
During the debate that followed at Boat of Garten Community Hall, many members said they were struck by the proposed scale of the buildings, saying they were unacceptable and would dominate a key entrance to the village.
Recommending to committee members that the application be refused, planning officer Katherine Donnachie said: “The scale and layout will dominate the landscape in this area and there will be a loss of trees within the location to the further detriment of the landscape setting of the site.”
Members followed the advice of officers with planning committee convener Eleanor Mackintosh commenting: “The south end of Aviemore is no place for a development of this size.
"The height of the proposed buildings would dominate everything else on that streetscape.
"While it is a prime site for development, this is the wrong design.
"We would be keen however to see more sympathetic plans for the site coming forward.”
