PLANS to turn the Broadsea Hall into a funeral director's rest rooms, have been deferred after some letters of representation had not been circulated with the report going before councillors.
Members of Aberdeenshire Council's Banff and Buchan Area Committee agreed to defer consideration of the application until the next meeting to enable all correspondence to be considered.
Miss Gail Deans of Bucksburn is seeking full planning permis
sion to change of use of the now redundant hall to rest room.
Councillors have been advised that the application does not propose any physical changes to the exterior of the building and that no additional off-street parking is provided.
The committee was informed that seven letters of representation have been received from six households which all object to the proposal on the basis of loss of the hall and concerns over parking, safety and amenity.
The report from the planners to the area committee stated: "The Transportation and Infrastructure (Roads Development) Service does not object to the proposal and, furthermore, taking into account the parking allowance for the existing use of the site, and the on-street parking within close proximity to the site, there are no road safety.
"In principle, policies of the council support the reuse of existing, redundant sites within settlements where the use can exist without harming the general amenity of the area."
Plans before councillors seek consent to change the disused Broadsea Hall in Fraserburgh into funeral directors' rest rooms.
Members heard that in this respect it was worth noting that the applicant's letter of support sets out the range of activities which will be carried out at the site and, from this, it is clear that these activities are acceptable in terms of impacts on amenity in the vicinity.
The proposed hours of operation are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and by appointment only at weekends.
Members were advised to note that, in the context of parking, the agreed standards of parking (from 2001) place a standard of 5.5 spaces per 100m2 on the existing use of the building and a standard of 3 spaces per 100m2 for the proposed use.
The report added: "Therefore it is clear that any concerns in respect of parking provision could not be sustained and members must take into consideration the lawful use of the site requires more parking than the proposed use.
"Therefore if parking is a concern then it follows that it would be of more concern if a Class 10 use remained and that since the proposal complies with policy and all other material considerations have been taken into account that they would recommended giving approval subject to work starting within three years beginning with the date on which the planning permission is granted or deemed to have been granted."
However, councillors felt that they wanted more details on the seven letters of representation as they were not fully explained within the report and as a result they would defer their decision until a more detailed report is compiled.
