Agenda and minutes

The agenda, reports and recording associated with this meeting can be viewed here.

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 240366

The Local Review Body (LRB) of Aberdeen City Council met on this day to review the decision taken by an appointed officer under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation for the refusal of an application for Detailed Planning Permission for the change of use of flat to Short Term Let accommodation (sui generis) with maximum occupancy of 6 people, at 26 Belvidere Crescent Aberdeen, planning reference 240366.

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 case 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 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.

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.

In relation to the application, the LRB had before it (1) a delegated report and decision letter by the Appointed Officer, Aberdeen City Council; (2) an application dated 17 April 2024, (3) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the delegated report; (4) the Notice of Review submitted by the applicant; and (5) letters of representation from the Aberdeen City Council’s Roads Development Management Team, and Waste and Recycling Team.

Ms Greene then described the site and outlined the appellant’s proposal.   The application site comprised a ground floor flat in a traditional two-storey, semi-detached granite building. The building contained four flats, arranged in a tradition one-up, one-down flatted arrangement. The application property was located on the south side of Belvidere Crescent, approximately 60m north-east of the junction with Craigie Loanings and Hamilton Place. The property was surrounded by residential properties of a similar style, which was typical of the street. Parking for the property was available on street by virtue of residents parking permit. The property comprised three bedrooms, one with en-suite, a kitchen and dining room, living room, separate bathroom and had an independent access entrance door from the front of the building. A rear outshot extension which was original to the property contains the kitchen-dining room, and outbuildings used for storage purposes accessed externally (for both flatted properties in the building). To the rear the garden ground was shared with the upper floor flat, including communal drying green and access paths, with dedicated areas for each flat. The rear curtilage was open plan 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 240503.

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 Detailed Planning Permission for the change of use of house in multiple occupation (HMO) to short term let accommodation with maximum occupancy of 6 people at 568 Holburn Street, panning reference 240503.

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 23 April 2024 (3) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the delegated report; (4) general responses from Roads Development Management Committee and the Waste and Recycling Service and (5) the Notice of Review submitted by the agent. 

Ms Greene then described the application site and noted that it comprised a flat used as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in the first and second floors of a granite-built 2½ storey residential building containing two residential flats. The property had six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge/dining room, a kitchen and a roof terrace. The building fronts Holburn Street to the southeast and the property had its own entrance door which fronted the road. There was a garden to the rear. The application supporting information indicated that this garden belongs to the downstairs neighbour, albeit there was direct access from the property to this garden and it was used for the storage of bins for the application property.

In regards to the proposal, Ms Greene advised that Detailed Planning Permission was sought for the change of use of the property from a House in Multiple Occupation to short term let accommodation with a maximum occupancy of six people at any given time. The application stated that guests would stay for a minimum of one week and a maximum of three weeks and that it would be let to single groups at a time. The property would be cleaned after each stay or upon request during stays and waste would be collected by staff on a weekly basis.

Ms Greene indicated that the appointed officer’s reasons for refusal outlined in the report of handling was as follows:-

The change of use of this House in Multiple Occupation to short term let accommodation with a maximum occupancy of six people would have an adverse impact on the amenity afforded to the neighbouring residential occupants in the area in terms of noise and their actual or perceived impact on safety and security. The proposal conflicted with Policies 14 (Design, Quality and Place) and  ...  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 231043

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 Detailed Planning Permission for the erection of replacement dwelling house with integrated garage, formation of external stairs with handrail, alterations to boundary wall, erection of boundary fence, formation of hard surfacing/parking and associated works, at 8 Woodburn Gardens Aberdeen, planning reference 231043.

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 23 August 2023 (3) links to the plans showing the proposal and planning policies referred to in the delegated report; (4) general responses from Roads Development Management Committee and the Waste and Recycling Service, (5) one letter of objection and one neutral representation and (6) the Notice of Review submitted by the agent. 

Ms Greene then described the application site and noted that it extended to 809m2 , was located within an established residential area and accommodated a one-and-a-half-storey detached dwelling with an attached garage of granite construction, along with its front, side and rear curtilage. The footprint of the existing dwelling and garage extended to 102m2 with other areas of development, i.e. hardstanding and external stairs extending to 177m2 , the remainder of the site was garden ground.

The site sat to the north of Woodburn Gardens, characterised by granite faced dwellings with hipped and pitched roofs, chimney stacks and large rear gardens. The site itself was split level with the dwelling sitting at what was effectively road level and the rear curtilage sitting between 1.6m and 3m higher than the dwelling, increasing in height as you move towards the north east. Access to the rear garden was via an existing set of steps. To the south of Woodburn Gardens lay an area of open space and Walker Dam, designated as Green Space Network and a Local Nature Conservation Site (Walker Dam and Rubislaw Link) and to the south east and north west sits 6 and 10 Woodburn Gardens, respectively.

In terms of the proposal, Ms Greene indicated that Planning Permission was sought for the erection of a one-and-a-half storey, 5 bedroomed, detached, ‘T’ shaped dwelling with an integral garage, which would see the existing dwelling and garage demolished. The proposed dwelling would measure 7.7m in height to the ridge, 3.1m to the eaves and 13.7m in width. In terms of its length the main part of the dwelling would be 11.7m, however the rear projecting wing, which would sit perpendicular to the dwelling,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.