The fate of a hotel in North Berwick will be put before Scottish Ministers after East Lothian councillors went against recommendations to approve its demolition.
The Golf Hotel, in the seaside town, closed commercially in 2006 and had been used by its owners for staff accommodation until it was bought by Caledonian Heritable during the pandemic.
However plans to demolish the building and build 14 flats on the site, on Dirleton Avenue, were recommended for refusal by planning officers with dozens of local objections.
A meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee today (Tuesday) overturned the advice to refuse permission to demolish the building and a separate application for the new flats.
Both applications will now be continued for final approval after the committee was told a bat survey was required on site before the go ahead could be given.
And councillors were told the demolition of the building in North Berwick’s conservation area will have to be referred to Scottish Ministers after national body Historic Environment Scotland objected to the work.
The meeting heard that the former hotel had initially been a house for a single family who used it in the last century as a holiday home evening bringing their own cattle with them so the children did not have to drink local milk.
Caledonian Brewery bought the building in 2021 and applied for permission to demolish it and build 14 luxury flats on the site.
Objectors to the demolition said the building should be given listed status and was an important part of the town’s conservation area.
However councillors voted by six votes to four to reject officers recommendation to refuse permission for the demolition.
Separately councillors voted against officers recommendations to refuse permission for the new flats, which will now come back to committee for formal approval once the bat survey is carried out.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
