Waarie Geo house plans kicked back by Lerwick council

A sketch of the proposed new house submitted with its planning application.

Lerwick community council has sent plans for a new house near the Knab back to the drawing board over suspected issues with erosion and coastal access.

Plans for the two-storey house — at the site of an old shed once used as a changing room for learner sea swimmers before Lerwick pool was built in the 1970s — were lodged with Shetland Islands Council in mid-February.

At a Lerwick community council meeting last night (Monday), however, other councillors also shared concerns about the size of the house and its impact on wildlife.

“My concern with this application is two things,” said council chairman Jim Anderson.

“There’s going to be free visibility for the front of the house and that means they’re going to have to take down the top of the banks,” he added. “I’m fairly suspicious they’re going to be having to take down the top of the banks outside the red line boundary.”

Karen Fraser, another councillor, agreed.

“It’s not like they’re planning to throw up a carbuncle,” she said. “But it looks as if the demolition of the cliff top there is a bit of a concern.”

Mr Anderson acknowledged the maps “could easily be redrawn” but asked that any new plan also include “a very distinct path” to access a beach at the point in front of the house.

Another councillor, James Paton, pointed out a ladder for actually accessing the water at the point has “rusted away” completely and that the area is little used.

“The bottom line is there’s a beach,” Mr Anderson replied. “It’s fine for us to go for a walk, to go down and sit. I spend a lot of time down there.”

Co-opted council member Emma Williamson said she often swims at the area, and has seen first hand the natural life using the beach.

“There’s otters there and birds,” she said. “It’s just a bit of a green area on the outskirts of Lerwick and it seems a peerie bit of an invasion of that area to me.”

“I’m not saying no, but it has to be tactful,” she said. “I have big concerns environmentally.”

Ms Williamson’s concerns echoed a letter to The Shetland Times last week, in which a former Breiwick Road resident, Jim Laurenson, described the plans as a “blot” on “otherwise natural surroundings”.

“It’s a big development,” said Ms Williamson said during the council meeting yesterday evening.

“It’s not a big development; it’s a house,” Mr Paton replied, adding that other developments in the area have set back by a “standstill” on Breiwick Road.

The planning application includes some environmental mitigations — including a “green roof” to replace any disturbed grassland, and a program to remove invasive species during construction.

The council ultimately determined not to object to the plans, but request more detail about cliff top works and beach access.