Plans for three new luxury homes to built at a plush East Ayrshire housing development have been turned down.
We reported in January on an application lodged with East Ayrshire Council (EAC) by Archiplan Glasgow, on behalf of their applicant, Mr Ahmed, to build a trio of seven-bedroom homes at the Ballochmyle estate, between Mauchline and Catrine.
They stated the application was a 'refreshed submission' after a previous bid was turned down due to concern at the scale, massing, proportions and detailing of the proposed homes.
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The new application stated that the scale and massing concerns had been addressed, and the overall 'habitable area' of each house revised to 4,832 square feet, in line with existing houses on the estate.
No representations, for or against, the new application were lodged with the council.
But the new application has now also been turned down, with EAC officials saying the proposals were not in line with criteria in the Scottish Government's National Planning Framework or with policies in the council's own local development plan.
Mr Ahmed had sought permission to build the new homes on a section of cleared land south-west of Ballochmyle House, adjacent to the Ballochmyle Estate's former walled garden, along with a proposed access road through the former walled garden area itself.
In a supporting statement lodged with the new application, Mr Ahmed's agent said: "Mr Ahmed and both his sons own various commercial businesses in the Mauchline and Catrine areas, and now wish to design and build their own homes in the area to allow them to be closer to their businesses.
"Within the Mauchline/Catrine area, Mr Ahmed and his family are a very large employer and highly thought of."
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In a report on the application and the reasons for the council's decision, the planning officer who dealt with the case said: "The rural location of the proposal is not considered to improve the quality of the area through the construction of three large dwellings.
"The proposed dwellinghouses are of a suburban appearance with no cognisance for their rural location.
"The massing, scale and proportions of dwellings are inappropriate and is not considered to be acceptable within the context of the rural area.
"The scale is not wholly unacceptable given the context. The proposed siting within the rural area, however, is not acceptable, as there is no justification within the context of the rural policies. The scale and design of the proposed houses is not considered to integrate to the rural area.
"The proposed dwellings are large two-storey buildings with dual pitched roofs and large attached garages. The windows on the dwellings also have an excessive horizontal emphasis.
"It is proposed to finish the dwellings with stone clad corners, and a render dash finish, Marley modern concrete tiles, and uPVC windows and doors.
"These aspects of the design are contrary to supplementary guidance on housing in the countryside.
"The proposed dwellinghouses would have a suburban appearance and design which is not appropriate for their location."
Initially, there had been plans to build 110 homes in the Ballochmyle estate.
However, due to the previous developer being unable to complete work, the remaining areas were put up for sale, and were purchased by Milestone Development in 2019.
Milestone Development have started work on building new homes elsewhere on the site.
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