Owner of Crown House guest house in Inverness given time to remove new paint job after falling foul of Highland Council planning rules and failing in appeal to Scottish Government
AN Inverness guest house owner who broke planning rules when he painted the stonework on his property has been allowed extra time to remedy the situation.
Highland Council issued an enforcement notice against Coinneach MacMillan in May after he painted corner stone blocks and other details at Crown House in Crown Drive in a cream colour.
His subsequent appeal was then dismissed by the Scottish Government and he was given until November 20 to comply with the notice.
Mr MacMillan said he had now been given an extension until the end of December to carry out the work although he fears sandblasting the paint will damage the stonework.
“I have had contractors looking at it,” said Mr MacMillan, who was unsure when they would carry out the work.
When planning officers issued the enforcement notice, they said the property was in a conservation area and maintained the application of paint was not in keeping with the area.
They also said painting stonework could accelerate the decay of underlying stone, so could not support a retrospective application.
In his appeal, Mr MacMillan maintained he was unaware the property was within the conservation area and that he had to have permission prior to work.