Neighbours angry over proposal for apart-hotel on residential street in Aviemore
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Residents in an Aviemore street have turned out in force to show their opposition to plans for major holiday accommodation at the end of their road.
Motherwell-based Sweeney Apartments & Rooms has submitted the proposals to Highland Council’s planning service in Kingussie for Dunroamin Guest House on Craig-na-Gower Avenue.
However, neighbours have pointed out that the site is to be combined by the developers with the former Vermont Guest House to form an even bigger development than the 11 units just applied for.
Objectors have described the proposal on a residential street as 'overdevelopment, incongruous and inappropriate'.
Vermont faces onto Grampian Road but its neighbour Dunroamin is on Craig-na-Gower Avenue.
Street resident Susie Petty said: “Vermont’s planning permission has gone through but not many people knew about it and is already being upgraded.
“There will be capacity for more than 50 people in the combined development in an unsupervised and unmanned operation.
“This is a residential street and it is already a bottleneck into Craig-na-Gower. It is just not acceptable.
"There are major concerns for the neighbours who are all very upset by the plans.
"It should just not be happening.”
“They are building pretty much 100 per cent on the two sites including a large gravel car park.”
There are also road safety concerns with claims of up to 26-plus cars exiting and entering within 30 metres of Grampian Road.
Scott Burn-Smith, owner of nearby Ravenscraig Guest House, said: “The whole headline of the story is really about the two properties are merging to form a 21-bedroom apart-hotel which is not what is written in the planning application.
“It masquerades the whole planning process.
"Make no mistake – this is essentially a hostel hotel development in a residential street and completely inappropriate.”
Mr Burn-Smith said from a commercial point of view: “Something like this will take out around 6000 room nights per year from the village.
“It will also damage tourism in smaller communities who benefit from when Aviemore is busy.
"The market share will be diluted.”
He added: “Essentially in the past there would only have been a maximum of 16 guests at these two properties operating as B&Bs.”
Mr Burn-Smith claimed: “It will become known as the place where you can squeeze as many people in a room because it is unmanned."
Objector Ian Davidson states in his response to planners: "This is a residential street in which all other propertied are owned and occupied by private home-owners.
"It is ridiculous that anyone would be allowed to build a monstrosity apart-hotel in this area of the village.
"This is Aviemore – a village in the Highlands of Scotlandand not Benidorm which is where these sort of establishments belong."
The developers' planning agent Inverness-based G H Johnston Planning & Design state in the bid that the resultant accommodation will be '11 stylish, modern, and serviced apartments for use all year round'.
They state: " The applicant is acquiring the property with a view of creating modern, stylish, and appealing serviced apartments for visitors wishing to stay in the heart of Aviemore.
"It forms part of an extensive programme of remodelling and renovation to Dunroamin and its adjacent property Vermont, the latter of which was granted planning permission for change of use from owners accommodation to Class 7 (hotels and hostels) alterations and extensions in May 2022."
The planning application by the Sweeney Group for Dunroamin can be viewed here
