ISS209 Development Land : Craobh Haven

Reporter: Development plan PDA3006 – Craobh Haven reference:

Body or person(s) submitting a representation raising the issue (including reference number):

Jo Woodcock (02100) Neil Henderson (01995) Neil Graham (01681) Dr Ainsley Reid (02067)

Provision of the development plan PDA3006 – Craobh Haven to which the issue relates: Planning authority’s summary of the representation(s): PDA3006 Jo Woodcock (02100) Objector considers that the LDP would have a detrimental effect on Craobh Haven. At the moment there are a number of properties empty and have been for quite a while so to have more empty properties would be uneconomical.

Objector considers that Craobh Haven is a place of outstanding natural beauty and is a very tranquil place with plenty of space. The objector further contends that by filling in all the proposed areas with tourism, business and low cost housing would make Craobh Haven not what it is today the peace and tranquillity would no longer exist.

PDA3006 Neil Henderson (01995) Objects to the proposed development of PDA3006 as it would have a detrimental effect on the current houses on the green and marina complex.

The objector considers that development would greatly lower the area’s appeal to tourists, holiday makers and resident alike by the building of a large number of houses on or close to the water’s edge or to the south of the Green, the very reason Craobh Haven was developed for originally was as a leisure complex in an attractive, uncluttered location.

No need for additional housing in Craobh Haven.

PDA3006 Neil Graham (01681) Objects to the current boundary to ensure that a service strip can be established behind 1 to 35 The Green. (see Map provided by Objector)

PDA3006 Dr Ainsley Reid (02067) General support expressed for PDA3006 which will support existing facilities. Concern expressed about building on existing car park.

Modifications sought by those submitting representations: PDA3006 Ms Jo Woodcock (02100) None stated

PDA3006 Mr Neil Henderson (01995) None stated

PDA3006 Mr Neil Graham (01681) To allow for a service strip to be established behind 1 to 35 The Green

PDA3006Dr Ainsley Reid (02067) No building on the car park.

Summary of responses (including reasons) by planning authority:

Context Craobh Haven is located on the Craignish Penninsular approximately 20 miles south of Oban and 15 miles north of Lochgilphead two of Argyll and Bute’s Main Towns. Craobh is linked to the main A816 by an upgraded road that has been adopted by Argyll and Bute Council in 2013 and is served by a regular bus service.

From 1983 onwards the area was developed primarily as a holiday resort encompassing a pub, shop and marina with associated boatyard and storage area. Planning Consent was obtained in 1983, for a water related leisure development, which was to be realised in three phases. (Production :Planning history PDXXX)

• Phase 1 was for the creation of a marina having 140 berths, accompanied by a development of 136 houses with appropriate commercial development, on 47 acres. The Green development formed part of this first phase. • Phase 2 proposed to increase the number of berths to 200, and increase the number of houses to 350 on a further 64 acres. • Phase 3 proposed further expansion to approx 500 berths, and adding further housing and commercial/leisure related development on a total of 330 acres.

Due to economic reasons and a lack of key infrastructure such as an adopted road these phases were not fully implemented. That said, the area has also been subject to numerous detailed and outline planning consents following the initial submitted concept primarily for housing and facilities such as chandlery, marina offices, toilet block, bistro and associated parking some of which have been constructed and some not.

The most significant of these were submitted by ALMA Leisure who successfully received consent Ref: 04/00057/DET - Residential development (163 dwellings, 32 maisonettes/flats), 4 retail units, 1 cafe, sewage treatment works, 100 berth pontoon extension, layout of roads and car parking and improvement of access road from A816. This consent was amended and subsequently renewed in 2008 Ref: 08/01239/OUT - Residential development (159 dwellings, 32 maisonettes/flats), 4 retail units, 1 cafe, sewage treatment works, 100 berth pontoon extension, layout of roads and car parking and improvements of access road from A816.

However, these consents have again largely been unimplemented due to the ambitious scale of the proposal together with the presence of constraints (water, sewerage and road access) and have subsequently lapsed.

As a consequence of this and in recognition of the identified constraints all housing allocations (H-AL 12/9 – 12) identified in the Adopted Argyll and Bute Local Plan (Core Document : CD001) have been removed and are proposed to be replaced by PDA3006 and PDA3012 (not objected to) in the PLDP. The area is also covered by Strategic Masterplan MAST 1/7 Craobh Haven of the LDP, which has been objected to by a Mr Neil Tough (00705) and is addressed by the Council in a separate schedule 4 (ISSXXX).

PDA3006 is for mixed use including tourism/housing/business and PDA3012 is for Mixed Use (Core Document – Action Programme CDXXX). PDA 3006 covers an area in the current Local Plan identified as housing allocations H-AL 12/10; H-AL 12/11 and H-AL 12/12 (Production : Site Map PDXXX) for 44 units including 25% affordable. The relatively low number indicated for these allocations reflected the fact that the granted consents at that time contained a majority of holiday accommodation units.

PDAs are areas where specific development opportunities may be supported through the life of this LDP where known constraints can be overcome. (Para 2.11.1 – PLDP Written Statement). The constraints are not currently fully resolved and issues may require to be overcome that have been identified in the mini brief for each PDA that has been included in the Draft Action Programme (Core Doc Ref xxx).

Housing Supply : PDA3006 Jo Woodcock (02100); PDA3006 Neil Henderson (01995) The inclusion of PDAs has proved extremely useful in Argyll and Bute in helping to provide a generous and flexible housing supply in line with Scottish Government expectations, helping to meet the requirements of the Argyll and Bute Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (Core Doc Ref xxx) and providing new development opportunities to help support economic growth and boost the local population in line with the aspirations of the Council’s Single Outcome agreement (Core Doc. Ref. xxx). Ardfern/Craobh Haven has been identified as a key rural settlement to act as a rural growth point given its capacity and range of existing facilities (Core Document : Monitoring Statement May 2011 para 3.46 CD XXX).

The replacement of the housing allocations with Potential Development Areas recognises the need to address constraints (water, sewerage and nature conservation) and that the sites cannot now be considered effective unless these constraints are overcome during the life of the LDP. The housing numbers have therefore moved from the effective supply into the established supply to reflect this. The two PDAs are intended to provide a minimum of 25 affordable housing with approximately 80 dwellings in total, some of which will be used as holiday/second home accommodation. The current owners of the land, Holt Leisure, covered by these 2 PDAs are currently working to address these constraints. Works (funded entirely by Holt Leisure) are now finished on the access road, which has been adopted by the Council in 2013. A draft masterplan has also been produced for both PDAs (Production Masterplan : PD xxx).

Design: PDA3006 Neil Henderson (01995); PDA3006 Jo Woodcock (02100) This draft masterplan shows indicative layouts for taking the development forward in accordance with the aspirations of the Craignish Community Plan, which was prepared by the Craignish Community Council in partnership with the Council’s Planning Service and which was subsequently approved by the Council in November 2012 as non-statutory supplementary guidance (Core Document CD XXX). The community’s ambition for Craobh Haven was to help create more of a permanent settlement in the village following existing settlement boundaries. The PDA is situated within an Area of Panoramic Quality and as such SG LDP 13 (Core Doc SG) will require to be taken into account. The Argyll and Bute Sustainable Design Guidance and a required masterplan approach will ensure design aspects are fully taken into account.

Service Strip and Car Park : PDA3006 Neil Graham (01681); PDA3006Dr Ainsley Reid (02067) The draft masterplan also indicates that no development will take place on the designated car park that serves the marina development and provision will also be made for a service corridor to be provided at the rear of 1 to 35 The Green. The Council considers that this will address the objections raised by Mr Neil Graham (01681) and Dr Ainsley Reid (02067). In addition a note regarding this constraint has been added to the PDA mini brief

In terms of peace and tranquillity the area will still contain a rural feel with considerable areas designated as Open Space Protection Areas or as Countryside. The PDA designations will allow for considerably less development than was previously consented for which the Council considers will be more sympathetic to the character of the surrounding area.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Craobh Haven has been subject to considerable change in recent decades in its changing role from a landed rural estate to a tourist resort linked to the marina and other tourist facilities. The Council does not consider that this change has deterred tourists to the area given the resultant improvements to access and holiday facilities that have taken place. The Council also does not consider that further development in this location, a key rural settlement with potential for growth, would lower the appeal of tourists to the area if this done in a sensitive manner taking into account all the relevant policies and supplementary guidance of the Local Development Plan.

The Council does however recognise that the scale of the original leisure village, as initially planned, is undeliverable in the current climate and there is also a need to deliver a mixed community to better reflect the wishes of the approved Craignish Community Plan. For this reason the Council considers that PDA3006 should be retained in the plan with an unaltered boundary for the purpose of mixed use including new housing, (including affordable). Development of the PDA is subject to the identified constraints in the mini brief being dealt with satisfactorily.

Reporter’s conclusions:

Reporter’s recommendations: