COUNCILLORS are set to hold a public hearing after visiting a site on the Rosneath Peninsula which is the subject of an appeal.
Lisa Bradbury and Matt Aitchison’s bid for planning permission for a house on land south of Fernbank, in Rahane, was refused by Argyll and Bute Council in October 2024.
Officers from the authority cited concerns over traffic and visibility in connecting with the main B833 road when they issued their decision.
An appeal has since been lodged, and three councillors will hold a site visit after deciding to do so at the latest hearing in the process in November.
That will be followed by a local review body hearing at the Gibson Hall in Garelochhead at noon on Tuesday, April 14.
Council roads officers have said in papers published ahead of the hearing: “Whilst the applicant highlights that only a small number of overtaking manoeuvres may be directly affected by the obstruction, the overtaking survey confirms that overtaking does occur at this location.
“Overtaking is recognised as a higher-risk manoeuvre, due to speed variances and reduced reaction times. As such, even infrequent overtaking strengthens the need for full compliance with minimum visibility standards, not a reduction.
“The presence of these manoeuvres therefore reinforces the justification for maintaining the full visibility splay distance of 75 m for a 40mph road on road safety grounds.
“The proposed development does not achieve the minimum required visibility distance, does not meet land-control obligations, does not demonstrate exceptional justification for a discretionary relaxation, and presents an avoidable road safety risk, particularly given the confirmed presence of overtaking activity and the operating speed environment. Roads therefore cannot support a reduced visibility splay.
“Should the applicant secure control of the necessary land or redesign the access to achieve the required 75 m Y-distance, Roads would be willing to reconsider the proposal.”
In response, the applicants said: “The visual incursion is allowable when properly assessed in terms of impact on the overall envelope of visibility. In this case, the effect on visibility is less than half that of examples given in the local and national guidance.
“Furthermore, accident statistics prove that ‘visibility is not materially affected’ by the specific obstruction in question. Roads have failed to provide evidence, proof or explanation as to why they believe a four per cent reduction in visibility for events that have been shown to occur just twice in a week outweighs a 97 per cent improvement to Ach-Na-Cloich Cottage’s northward visibility splay, currently exposed to 7,200 traffic movements per week.
“Also, no explanation has been provided as to why two voluntary overtaking events are of great concern to roads, but 93 involuntary overtaking events involving delivery vehicles are of no concern at all, despite the potential for remediation.
“The applicants do not understand why roads are so opposed to improving road safety when presented with such a clear opportunity. The potential road safety benefits are orders of magnitude greater than the effect of the minor departure from standard.”
The local review body will be chaired by Councillor Gordon Blair (SNP, Cowal), and also includes Councillor John Armour (SNP, South Kintyre) and Councillor Peter Wallace (Conservative, Isle of Bute).
