Agenda and minutes

Members, please note that all plans and supporting documents relevant to the review can be viewed online here and by entering the application reference number 241416.

The Local Review Body (LRB) of Aberdeen City Council met on this day to consider a request to review against the non-determination of  an application for Detailed Planning Permission for the change of use and reconstruction of existing commercial garages to form triple domestic garage with upper floor store and external stair access at 36 Albyn Place Aberdeen, planning reference 241416.

Councillor McRae as Chair for the meeting, gave a brief outline of the business to be undertaken, advising that the LRB would be addressed by the Assistant Clerk, Mrs Lynsey McBain with regards to the procedure to be followed and thereafter, by Ms Lucy Greene who would be acting as the Planning Adviser to the Body in the following cases under consideration this day.

The Chairperson stated that although the Planning Adviser was employed by the planning authority, she had not been involved in any way with the consideration of the application under review and was present to provide factual information and guidance to the Body only.  He emphasised that the officer would not be asked to express any view on the proposed application.

The Local Review Body was then addressed by Mrs McBain, Assistant Clerk in regard to the procedure to be followed, at which time reference was made to the procedure note circulated with the papers calling the meeting and to more general aspects relating to the procedure.

Ms Greene advised that an appeal against non-determination would take place where there had not been a decision made on an application during the statutory period of 2 months following validation of the application.  The request for review had been correctly submitted with all necessary information within the time limit following the end of the statutory period.

In relation to the application, the LRB had before it (1) a draft delegated report by the Appointed Officer, Aberdeen City Council; (2) an application dated 4 December 2024; (3)  the draft report of handling (4) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the draft delegated report; (5) the Notice of Review submitted by the applicant/agent; and (6) consultee correspondence from the Council’s Roads Development Management Teams. 

In terms of the proposal Ms Greene indicated that detailed planning permission was sought for a change of use of the two aforementioned commercial garages and the ground lying immediately to their north and reconstruction to form a single triple domestic garage with storage space within the upper floor of the garage building, accessed via external stairs. With the exception of the external stairs, which would be located to the rear (north) of the garage building, providing independent access to its upper floor, the proposed garage development would retain the overall footprint of the existing two garage buildings, with a total length of 11.1 metres and width of 7.8 metres, whilst introducing a maximum roof height of 6.2 metres compared to the existing 5.6 metres. The proposed single garage would therefore have a footprint of 86.5 square metres, with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

Members, please note that all plans and supporting documents relevant to the review can be viewed online here and by entering the application reference number 240651.

The LRB then considered the second request for a review to evaluate the decision taken by an appointed officer under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation to refuse the application for a change of use of flat to Short Term Let accommodation (sui generis) with maximum occupancy of 4 people, at Attic Floor Flat, 320 Great Western Road Aberdeen, planning reference 240651.

The Chairperson stated that although the Planning Adviser for the LRB was employed by the planning authority, she had not been involved in any way with the consideration or determination of the application under review and was present to provide factual information and guidance to the Body only.  He emphasised that the officer would not be asked to express any view on the proposed application.

In relation to the application, the LRB had before it (1) a delegated report and decision notice by the Appointed Officer, Aberdeen City Council; (2) an application dated 27 May 2024 (3) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the delegated report; (4) and the Notice of Review submitted by the agent. 

Ms Greene then described the site and outlined the appellant’s proposal.   The site to which this application related was an attic floor flat within a traditional granite tenement in a residential area to the west of Aberdeen City Centre. The site and surroundings were within the Great Western Road Conservation Area. The building in which the flat was located housed two flats in the upper storeys of the building and a ground floor shop facing on to the corner of Great Western Road and Forest Avenue and a second shop facing only onto Forest Avenue. The flats were accessed from the front entrance through a front enclosed garden area into a communal hallway and staircase. The shops had separate front entrances, independent of the flats above. The flat had a floor area of 93m2. The flat is laid out with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms off a central entrance foyer from the attic landing. There were no other flats accessed from the attic landing. Currently the other flat within the building was in residential use. No vehicular parking was provided or proposed to be provided with this application site. The flat did have access to outside communal space in the form of a rear garden.

In terms of the proposal, it was noted that Detailed Planning Permission was sought for the change of use of flat to Short Term Let (STL) accommodation (sui generis) with maximum occupancy of 4 people.  It was noted that the applicant advised that the maximum occupancy for the STL was four persons at any one time, with a minimum stay duration of two nights. There would be no maximum period of stay. The property would be operated as an STL on a permanent basis. Waste from the property would be collected from the on-street communal residential waste bins. There was no off street parking provided currently nor is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Members, please note that all plans and supporting documents relevant to the review can be viewed online here and by entering the application reference number 241224.

The LRB then considered the third request for a review to evaluate the decision taken by an appointed officer under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation to refuse the application for the change of use of amenity land to domestic garden ground and the erection of a fence, gate and steps (retrospective), at 43 Middleton Circle Aberdeen, planning reference 241224.

The Chairperson stated that although the Planning Adviser for the LRB was employed by the planning authority, she had not been involved in any way with the consideration or determination of the application under review and was present to provide factual information and guidance to the Body only.  He emphasised that the officer would not be asked to express any view on the proposed application.

In relation to the application, the LRB had before it (1) a delegated report and decision notice by the Appointed Officer, Aberdeen City Council; (2) an application dated 17 October 2024 (3) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the delegated report; (4) and the Notice of Review submitted by the agent. 

Ms Greene then described the site and outlined the appellant’s proposal.   The site comprised a c.63sqm area of open space to the southwest of 43 Middleton Circle. The site had been the subject of an unauthorised change of use to garden ground to be incorporated into the rear garden ground of 43 Middleton Circle. An unauthorised fence on a raised platform had been erected enclosing the area and an outbuilding had also been installed within the enclosed area. Prior to the unauthorised change of use, the area formed part of a large band of woodland open space known as ‘West Belt’ which surrounded the site to the southeast, southwest and northwest. The open space was zoned as Policy NE2 (Green Space Network) in the Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2023 and was known as part of Grandhome Moss, providing links between the green spaces within Bridge of Don and Balgownie to the Grandhome Moss Local Nature Conservation Site to the north. It also formed part of an important woodland buffer between the Grandhome development to the southwest (allocated as OP9 in the Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2023) and the established Middleton residential area to its north and east.

The open space had a well-used public footpath running through the site, which provided extensive links to the residential areas of Bridge of Don to the north, as well as to Core Path 26, which was c.50m to the southeast on Whitestripes Avenue. The open space corresponded with the mapped layer of Ancient Woodland Inventory and was identified on historic maps dating from 1899 as being woodland. It was however noted that there were no trees within the application site boundary.

Ms Greene noted that planning permission was sought retrospectively for the change of use of the application site from amenity land to domestic garden ground and for the erection of a raised fence, gate and steps enclosing the space. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.