Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Development and Economic Growth

The Senior Planning Officer spoke to the terms of the report.  The proposal site relates to a former dairy farm located at Gartbreck on an area of otherwise undeveloped coastline approximately 3 km south west of Bowmore.  The site is served by a single access road that leads off the A846 Port Ellen to Bowmore road and also serves the Bowmore Waste Water Treatment works and the Bowmore landfill and waste reclamation site.

The site is located within the Countryside Zone and also lies within both Laggan Bay and Peninsula designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA). 

The report sets out the information submitted to date as part of the Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) and summarises the policy considerations, against which any future planning application will be considered as well as potential material considerations and key issues based upon the information received to date. 

It was recommended that Members note the content of the report and submissions and provide such feedback as they consider appropriate in respect of the PAN to allow these matters to be considered by the Applicant in finalising any future planning application submission.

Decision

The Committee noted the content of the report and requested that the following matters be given consideration in finalising any future planning application submission –

1.     the impact of another distillery on the island as a whole and the cumulative impact of the distilleries already on the island;

2.     any additional infrastructural requirements to support another distillery on the island;

3.     the commercial opportunities and economic benefits that may arise from the proposed development; and

4.     a view from local Members given the issues with housing and transport on the island.

(Reference: Report by Head of Development and Economic Growth dated 6 June 2024, submitted)