COUNCILLORS are due to decide next week whether a development of holiday lodges on farmland near Loch Thom can go-ahead
Inverclyde planners refused permission earlier this year for 12 single-storey lodges proposed for an area of rough grassland beside compensation reservoir at Cornalees Farm, in the countryside between Greenock and Inverkip.
The applicant appealed against the decision and councillors on the district’s local review body are expected to consider the case on Wednesday 2 October.
Officials refused permission stating that the proposal did not respect the landscape setting or character, or protect important views.
An appeal document submitted by architects Nicolson McShane on behalf of the farm owners states: “We believe that the chosen site is ideal for a sympathetic development of the type proposed, lying as it does in a small area characterised not by remoteness but by historic and modern infrastructure, tourist development and centuries of industrial endeavour. It is an area with easy walking and cycling access to truly remote and wild areas of Inverclyde where nature can be enjoyed in full.
“We ask the elected members of the Local Review Body to take a reasoned, balanced view of the proposal and overturn the officers’ refusal. Inverclyde will benefit from this modest, attractive development which will encourage responsible and sustainable enjoyment of the natural environment and help satisfy the goals of tourist and economic development and of access to the countryside.”
The lodges, each with two to three bedrooms, were to be accessed via a new single track road with passing places from the adjacent public road. The development was to have included a small building for administration and servicing of the lodges.
