Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Development and Economic Growth

The Planning Officer spoke to the terms of the report.   Planning permission is sought in retrospect for the siting of an ark sculpture on an elevated area of ground approximately 135 metres to the east of a car parking layby adjacent to the a8003 road and to the north west of Coill Beag woodland in Tighnabruaich.  The site is located in ‘Countryside’ for the purposes of the Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan 2015, in which only certain scales and types of development gain immediate support.  In this case, an ‘exceptional case’ requires to be demonstrated but it is not considered that the undertaking of a full Area Capacity Evaluation would add value to the assessment of the application.   The Applicant has stated that the sculpture was created to raise awareness of the scale and urgency of the climate and ecological emergency; that it was designed to start conservations and inspire action; and was located so that it could be viewed from the car parking layby with the possibility of people choosing to walk up to it.  It is considered that these points (and other factors), when taken cumulatively, represent a form of ‘exceptional case’.  The visual impact of the development is relatively confined given that it can be seen only over a very short stretch of the A8003.  Although located within the Kyles of Bute National Scenic Area and in the ‘Craggy Upland – Argyll’ Landscape Character Type, it does not impinge to a significant degree on either the special qualities of the NSA or the key features of the Landscape Character Type that have been identified by NatureScot and its predecessor, Scottish Natural Heritage.  An objection has been received from one source but many of the points raised do not have a material bearing upon the Planning aspects of the case.

It was recommended that planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and reasons set out in the report of handling.  It was also recommended that prior to the decision paperwork being issued, the Development Management Service obtain appropriately scaled plans containing a red line within which the accurate description of the Ark Sculpture is drawn.

Decision

The Committee agreed to grant planning permission subject to the following conditions and reasons, noting that prior to the decision paperwork being issued, the Development Management Service would obtain appropriately scaled plans containing a red line within which the accurate description of the Ark Sculpture is drawn:

1.    This permission shall cease on or before 1^st March 2027 other than in the event of a further Planning Permission for continued use having been granted upon application to the Planning Authority. Within one month of the cessation of the use, the ark sculpture shall be removed from the site and the land shall be restored in accordance with a reinstatement scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing in advance by the Planning Authority.

Reason:  In order that the Planning Authority may review the circumstances pertaining to the development within a reasonable period of time and in the interests of visual amenity.

2.    Notwithstanding the requirements of condition 1, in the event that the condition of the structure falls into serious disrepair, the ark sculpture shall be removed from the site and the land shall be restored in accordance with a reinstatement scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority.

Reason:  in the interests of amenity and public safety.

(Reference: Report by Head of Development and Economic Growth dated 3 February 2022, submitted)