Settlement Tugnet
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Settlement Tugnet Site Address Land to the east of Tugnet Ref Number SITE 1 Proposed extension to Tugnet rural community to accommodate Bid Summary tourist development (2.6 acres/1.05 ha) Site Description Gorse Greenfield/ Brownfield Greenfield Current Zoning Countryside and Coastal Protection Zone (CPZ) TMC Transportation Services to advise. Core path road (ER 125) extends from ‘The Steadings’ on the B9104 to the Wildlife Centre. This joins an aspirational core path (4) to Bogmoor via the B9104. ER125 links into the Speyside Way which extends eastwards to Transportation Portgordon. A SUSTRANS route linking Garmouth to Nether Dallachy is situated to the south of Spey Bay, cutting across the B9104. The SUSTRANS route does not extend into settlement. There are no bus services to Tugnet. The boundary of the rural community was changed during the Planning History preparation of the Moray Local Plan 2008 (MLP 2008) to reflect the planning consent granted for a tourist development at the Spey Bay Hotel (04/02489/FUL). This included the demolition of the existing hotel, golf clubhouse, driving range and timber pavilion to create a golf associated development of a clubhouse, 3 new golf lodges, the refurbishment of existing holiday units to form overnight accommodation, the creation of 21 house sites, a waste water treatment works, oil tank to serve the clubhouse and associated roads. The development has not been implemented and consent has now lapsed. An application to change the use of an existing recreational building to licensed premises at the Golf Course was recently granted consent (11/00487/APP). Little other development has taken place in the rural community since 2000: one dwelling has been permitted and 3 self-catering units have been made into a private dwelling. Development within the rural community forms a linear pattern along the B9104, and is mostly single to one and a half storey dwellings. There is a mixture of traditional, stone and post-war properties. TMC Environmental Health has raised no comments and there are Environmental Health no known contaminated land issues. The site is outwith the Spey Bay coastal flooding area (source: SEPA Flood Maps, 2012). Drainage should not increase flood risk to neighbouring property. SUDS and a construction phase water management plan are required. If soakaway are to be used, Flooding infiltration tests should be carried out at the location where the soakaway is to be sited, generic site infiltration tests may not provide an accurate indication of site suitability for soakaways to function properly. The slightly undulating site forms part of a larger area of gorse land and is located immediately adjacent the Golf Course. There are no features to differentiate the site from the remainder of the area. A 6ft metal fence forms the west and southern boundaries of the site. Properties along the B9104 sit at a lower level and are Landscape separated by mature trees and scrub as well as an informal path between their rear gardens and the metal fencing. The proposal includes part of this land and path. The Golf Course extends north from the site to the coastline. The coastal plain is low-lying and flat. SEPA have raised issues concerning the protection/improvement of the water environment/coastal processes: Tugnet is a community which is very vulnerable to the dynamic nature of both the River Spey and the Moray Coastline. Although there appears to be allocation already in place Biodiversity/Natura for development in the area we would strongly advise against further development due to likely problems which may arise in future as a result of changes to the river and coastline. Such problems already exist on the opposite side of the river in Garmouth and there is no reason why over time the problem would not shift to the Tugnet side. SNH have raised issues concerning the Habitat Regulations Appraisal (HRA) and protected areas. HRA: River Spey Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Lower River Spey – Spey Bay SAC and Moray and Nairn Special Protection Area (SPA) are all close to the site. Protection measures against coastal flooding and erosion in the future could impact on the Natura sites. Protected Areas: Including the Natura 2000 sites, Spey Bay SSSI stretches includes much of the Spey. Although the proposal would not directly affect the interests of the sites, this is an active ‘soft’ coastline that experiences erosion. The River Spey is also an actively eroding river. Protection measures against coastal and river flooding and erosion in the future could impact on the SSSIs. The site is located within the Coastal Protection Zone (CPZ) identified in the MLP 2008 and is a Site of Interest to Natural Science (SINS). Tugnet is served by the Turriff Water Treatment Works (WTW) Water/Waste water which has an indicative capacity of 275 units. Effluent disposal will need to be accommodated through private means. There are no cultural heritage assets affected by the proposed site Cultural Heritage and no archaeological mitigation would be required. Vulnerability of land due to dynamic nature of actively eroding River Spey and actively ‘soft’ Moray coastline, impact on River Overall SEA Assessment Spey SAC and SSSI and Moray and Nairn SPA, and SINS all need to be taken into consideration. Tugnet is a small rural community situated at the mouth of the River Spey within which there are a number of tourist attractions: Wildlife Centre and Golf Course. The Spey Bay Hotel is not in operation and lies vacant. There are no facilities within the hamlet with residents travelling to the nearest settlement, Overall Planning Assessment Fochabers (5 miles) for provisions. Whilst the hamlet and its environs provide an attractive setting for a tourist destination, further development is inhibited by the active ‘soft’ coastline and environmental protection designations. For this reason, it is not intended to support the development proposal. The site is located within the Milne’s Primary and High School Other (Fochabers) catchments. Spey Bay Hall is located outside the rural community boundary to the south on the B9104. Settlement Upper Dallachy Site Address Land in the north of Upper Dallachy Ref Number SITE 7 Retention and Extension of Site A allocated for Residential Bid Summary Development in Moray Local Plan 2008 (MLP 2008) Site Description Rough Grazing (Horses) Greenfield/ Brownfield Greenfield Eastern Part of Proposed Site: Allocated for Residential Development (Site A in MLP 2008). Current Zoning Western Part of Proposed Site: Countryside (located outside rural community boundary). TMC Transportation Services to advise. A SUSTRANS route connecting Nether Dallachy to Portgordon is located to the north- east of Upper Dallachy. An aspirational core path (4) connecting Transportation Spey Bay to Bogmoor via the B9104 is located to the west of Upper Dallachy. Neither of these routes directly connect to Upper Dallachy. There are no bus services to Upper Dallachy. Upper Dallachy’s rural community boundary includes the eastern Planning History part of the proposed site. This area was considered during the preparation of the MLP 2008, and subsequently allocated for residential development. The proposal is to extend the boundary west to allow additional houses. One house has been granted consent on the eastern part of the allocated site (07/00905/OUT & 10/00274/AMC) and has yet to be constructed. Over the period 2000-2011, 8 dwellings have been granted consent (6 of these have been built). Development has mainly taken place in the north of Upper Dallachy. No applications have been submitted for Sites B (Greenfield) and D (brownfield) allocated in the MLP 2008 for residential. Site C has been developed with one dwelling (02/02415/OUT & 07/01862/FUL). An application to convert a steading to a dwelling was refused (09/01781/APP). There are no gap or infill sites remaining within Upper Dallachy. The majority of development is concentrated in the central and more recently, the northern part of the rural community. There is a mixture of house types, from two-storey traditional stone houses to more recently constructed kit houses. The majority of development is single and one and a half storey. TMC Environmental Health has raised no comments and there are Environmental Health no known contaminated land issues. SEPA has raised the following issue: Protection/improvement of the water environment: The Gowktree Burn appears to be culverted through the proposed site. Development of the site should take the opportunity to de-culvert the burn and restore as far as possible. Space should also be provided for development of natural processes in the future. This may take up a significant area in this case and may make the development unviable. Flooding The site is not at risk of flooding (source: SEPA flood maps, 2012). Drainage should not increase the flood risk to neighbouring property. SUDS and a construction phase water management plan are required. If soakaway are to be used, infiltration tests should be carried out at the location where the soakaway is to be sited, generic site infiltration tests may not provide an accurate indication of ground suitability for soakaways to function properly. The site forms part of a larger field which gently slopes down to the burn. The designated and proposed sites are separated by a post and wire fence. The site is contained by trees and scrub along the south and west boundaries. The site is not visible from Landscape the village centre being screened by existing buildings and vegetation. A small makeshift stable is located in the north-west corner of the field. An overgrown broken tarmac vehicular track leads from the village to the site forming the north boundary. Dallachy Airfield is located to the north. SNH has raised the following issue: Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA): River Spey Special Area of Conservation (SAC) – sufficient information will be Biodiversity/Natura required at the application stage to confirm that adequate protection measures are able to be implemented to protect the water environment.