Replacement house at Briar Cottage, Templar Place, Gullane

What was proposed

The application proposed demolishing Briar Cottage and building one replacement house, an outbuilding, parking, hardstanding and new boundary enclosures.

“The external finishes of the walls of the proposed house would comprise a combination of natural rubble stone reclaimed from the down-taking of the existing house and boundary walls of Briar Cottage, a rendered finish with quoin stones and vertical larch timber cladding. The dual pitched roof would be clad with natural slates. No specification for the roof finish of the flat roofed areas of the proposed house has been provided.”

Officer report

The site and surroundings

The site is an approximately 800-square-metre residential plot in Gullane Conservation Area, beside homes, a public road and golf course land.

“The site is bounded to the north by a combination of the residential property of Winn Cottage and its garden ground and by a workshop building and associated land, to the east by the house of Aros House and its associated garden ground, and to the west by a combination of the flatted building of Fairways and The Turret and garden of Cob Cottage.”

“The application site is a roughly rectangular shaped area of land measuring some 800 square metres in area (some 0.08ha) and is part of a wider area that is characterised as being of residential character and amenity as defined by Policy RCA1 of the adopted East Lothian Local Development Plan 2018.”

Officer report

Why officers supported it

Officers considered the house an appropriate, sympathetic infill development that would preserve the conservation area and avoid harmful effects on neighbours.

“A proposed air source heat pump (ASHP) would be installed to serve the proposed house. It would be small in size and scale and would be positioned alongside the north elevation of the proposed outbuilding on the northern part of the site.”

“In that the proposed development would be an appropriate and sympathetic form of infill development of this part of Gullane that would not be harmful to the character and appearance of this part of the Conservation Area and would otherwise not conflict with other relevant development plan policies, it would not detract from this part of the East Lothian developed coast area of which it is a part and thus would not conflict with ELLDP Policy DC6 on matters relating to…”

Officer report

Who spoke

The applicant’s agent supported the proposal, while a speaker on behalf of objectors opposed it as oversized and effectively two houses.

Members’ debate

Members discussed the house’s scale, the cottage’s condition, conservation area change, modern living, design quality and whether the existing building was unsafe.

“[name withheld] spoke against the application on behalf of all objectors, and particularly the main objector, Ian Butcher. [name withheld] discussed: the proposals being an overdevelopment, with only 12 feet of garden ground left at the end of the property; his consideration that the proposals were a single application for two houses, and a contingency plan for years to come; the layouts of the ‘first’ and ‘second’ house, which he described as only being connected by a corridor;…”

“Committee members made comment on application 24/00811/P, and discussed: the design of the proposed property being out of proportion for the site and the surrounding area; the deterioration of Briar Cottage; the different architectural styles represented in the Conservation Area, and the need to meet the needs of modern living; the evolution of a Conservation Area over time, and the quality design of the property being an enhancement of place; and the current building being…”

Minutes

The vote

Seven councillors voted for permission, four voted against and none abstained.

“The Convener then moved to a roll call vote on the officer’s recommendation to grant consent for application 24/00811/P, and votes were cast as follows:”

“For: 7 (Councillors Hampshire, Forrest, Gilbert, McGinn, McLeod, McMillan, and Yorkston) Against: 4 (Councillors Allan, Collins, Cassini, and McIntosh)”

Minutes