East Lothian woman ‘knocked sideways' by rejection of house bid

Edinburgh Reporter

6 days ago

A grandmother who accused East Lothian Council of robbing her husband of the chance to spend his final years in their dream home has been 'knocked sideways' after losing the latest appeal against the decision.
Pat Sharp and her husband Nigel bought a former bank building on Westgate, North Berwick, seven years ago for more than £550,000 after it was put on the market by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The move was intended to allow them to retire to an accessible home for Nigel, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and carry on precious memories built with their granddaughters , who lost their mother at a young age, in the seaside town.
But their attempts to turn it into a house were repeatedly knocked back by the local authority planners who said it had to remain a commercial property.
Now Scottish Ministers have rejected an appeal over a decision not to grant Listed Building consent for a house on the site – despite the bank hall itself not being listed.
Despite the Scottish Government Reporter acknowledging that there was no issue in demolishing the bank hall and that Historic Environment Scotland did not consider it was a listed building, he ruled the proposed new two storey home would impact on neighbouring listed properties.
He said the new house would appear 'crammed' into the gap between the neighbouring homes which he said added to the character of the conservation area.
Refusing the appeal, the Reporter said: 'I have found that the loss of the former banking hall would be acceptable, and certain elements of the proposed design are not inappropriate.
'However, I find that the most powerful factors in this case would be the harmful effects on the settings of 12 and 14 Westgate as viewed from Westgate and the damage to the character of the North Berwick Conservation Area. I therefore dismiss the appeal.'
Mrs Sharp last month told the Local Democracy Reporting Service how she and her husband hoped to create a home in the town where they had honoured their daughter Cheryl's memory with holidays with her daughters over the years.
Pat said: 'Cheryl passed away after being diagnosed with CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary) when her girls were very young and made us promise not to just buy them things but to build memories with them and given them precious experiences.
'We bought a flat in North Berwick and it was a favourite place for the girls and us when they were young. When I saw the bank hall was for sale I thought it would be perfect for our retirement and Nigel, who could no longer cope with the stairs in the flat.'
Sadly for Pat and Nigel, who is 78, his condition has now deteriorated to the point he has had to move into a care home to receive the support he needs.
Pat said: 'He has been robbed of the chance to spend his final years in what we wanted to be our dream home, looking out over the North Berwick coast and remembering all our wonderful times here. it is devastating.'
Planners have rejected several application to turn the building into a home and dismissed claims by Pat and her team that attempts to sell it as a commercial venture have been unsuccessful after describing the £595,000 price tag put on it as 'excessive'.
The appeal to Scottish Ministers over Listed Building consent was the latest in a series of attempts to persuade planners to allow the house.
Councillors will hear a separate appeal on behalf of the couple over the latest refusal of planning permission at a meeting of the local authority's Local Review Body next week.
Pat said: 'We have been knocked sideways by the Reporter's decision. HES had no objection to our plan so this was completely out of the blue.
'Basically he states our site isn't wide enough. This is a completely new objection after seven years.'
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
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