AN appeal has been lodged after Inverclyde Council refused permission for vacant office premises in Greenock to be converted into serviced accommodation.
In November, Inverclyde Planning Board narrowly rejected the application by Borland Property to turn the first floor and attic at 20A Union Street into six units for short-term lets. Each was to have had one bedroom.
The board was split 5:5 but chairman Tommy McVey, who was opposed, used his casting vote, resulting in refusal. Those against the plan felt it would have a negative impact on amenity.
Planning officials had recommended approval.
Borland Property are now hoping the Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division will overturn the decision.
Their appeal statement argues: “The tendency is that objectors tend to view the human condition at its worse, which is understandable because they are trying to stop something from happening, and so you often get comments, such as here, of possible anti-social behaviour, noise, and that people staying will not be respectful of the local area.
“Those things can happen, and no level of vetting of guests, which will happen; banning of single sex groups, which again will happen; the use of a requested 11pm curfew on noise; banning of parties; and detailed instructions on how to maintain the property, and deal with waste, and how to be respectful to neighbours; will stop a bad apple if one decides to rent the property.”
“However, the likelihood of such a person, or persons, letting the property is so vanishingly small that to give it so much credence is disrespectful to the appellant, and how they will manage the property, and the 99.9 per cent of people who treat holiday accommodation as they would their own home, and the many, many people who treat it better than their own homes.
“There are plenty of tenants, and students, occupying flats who are far worse neighbours than people
renting a holiday let, and they are far harder to get rid of it. A bad renter of holiday accommodation, rare as they are, will be out the next day, or soon thereafter.”
The offices in the C-listed building were formerly occupied by legal firm Blair & Bryden.
