24-04-2025
Successful Dunkeld takeaway given the go-ahead for expansion
A popular Perthshire takeaway has been given the go-ahead to erect a larger container and provide covered outdoor seating for customers. The Craft Diner has been based at North Car Park, Atholl Street for over a year after initially operating within the car park at Dunkeld and Birnam Railway Station. Perth and Kinross councillors unanimously granted permission for Orkun Cevik - who said he serves an average of 180 customers a day - to expand his business but called for a waste management plan after objectors raised concerns about rats. Perth and Kinross Council's Planning and Placemaking Committee met to consider the application - recommended by officers for approval - on Wednesday, April 16. Chef Orkun has been operating on the Atholl Street site for over a year. He was previously at the train station car park site for 19 months. In his latest planning application, he sought permission to provide a larger 31.5m² container unit with better cooking facilities and a larger seated decking area with a pergola. The current unit is 7.75m². It would be located south of the existing container on an access area previously used by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). PKC received 66 letters of support for the application, 12 letters of objection and an objection from Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council. Objector Chris Claydon addressed the committee on behalf of several local residents who had "the gravest concerns, about the way in which this process has been conducted". She said: "We are aware that the root of the problem with this application, is the decision by the National Trust for Scotland to permit development on what is supposed to be a protected landscape, held in their trust. "Additionally, the most recent LDP2 [local development plan] is fundamentally flawed in that it does not identify the area in question as open space, despite the literature used for forming the LDP2 classing it as such. This has left the land vulnerable to development." Chris added: "One of the principal planning issues raised within ten of the 12 objections was the ongoing long-term mismanagement of waste and the associated rat infestation, which continues to this day." The objector later told councillors: "There are residents who live very close to The Craft Diner who had never been aware of the presence of rats until The Craft Diner located at its current location. "The Craft Diner also experienced a rat infestation at its previous location at the train station which has now gone since their removal and relocation." Photographs of litter and food waste at the diner were submitted to the council by an objector and the community council. However, Cllr Bob Brawn highlighted the planning officer's report of handling which said: "On a recent site visit, the pictures provided did not reflect the condition of the site so the pictures should not be taken as being the norm on site." Cllr Richard Watters asked an Environmental Health officer at the meeting if there had been any complaints received about the business in its current premises. She said: "We had received complaints with regards to rat infestation in the area and our pest control contractor has gone out to the site twice and found there were burrows on the Stanley Hill and in the areas around the bin. "So the landowner, National Trust for Scotland and PKC - because of the car park and bin areas - have all been advised and appropriate pest control mitigations are going to be put in place. "It was noted by the pest controller that the area around The Craft Diner was reasonably clean and tidy and there were no burrows around the actual unit itself." Highland Perthshire Cycling chairman Mike Stead spoke in support of the application saying it provided a "unique service for cyclists" who can dine outside all year round beside their bikes, which are often "expensive" and/or "carrying a lot of luggage". Addressing the concerns about rats, applicant Orkun Cevik said: "Environmental Health officers inspect me three times unannounced. For the rat issue, we had an independent surveyor inspect it. They find we are not the source. Rats have been there for maybe 1000 years. My business didn't create it. They were already there." Strathtay ward councillor Ian James moved for approval. The Conservative councillor said: "It's a bit of a controversial one but we're here to look at planning - not environmental health or anything else for that matter. Environmental Health do seem happy with it on the occasions they've been out. Therefore I'm happy to go with what our officers have recommended." He requested that a planning condition be added for a waste management plan, particularly to deal with additional waste-water. Cllr David Illingworth seconded the application and it was unanimously approved subject to several planning conditions. Following the meeting, a spokesperson for the National Trust for Scotland said: "We are aware the planning application from this business has been approved by Perth and Kinross Council. We are carefully reviewing the proposals in the context of the lease arrangements and we will consult with the tenant to determine the next step."
