Caledonian Sleeper HQ in Inverness deplores green light for holiday rooms on floor above it
A holiday let development in Inverness city centre has been given planning permission despite very strong opposition from a busy train travel business on the floors below.
The application for change of use from offices to five holiday letting rooms and listed building consent was made by Ahmed Munawar of the business Y People, for the top floor at 3 Union Street on the corner with Academy Street.
He will now convert the office space to the letting rooms with en-suite facilities, sleeping a maximum of 10 guests.
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But Caledonian Sleeper Ltd (CSL) who occupy the ground and first floor offices at 1 Union Street, fear their business could be affected by any noise and security impacts of the development, especially if guests are members of rowdy hen or stag party groups.
In a lengthy letter of objection to Highland Council planners, CSL’s guest experience director Stacey Fleming said that CSL is concerned that the development will change the safety/security risk profile of their operation.
She added: “A particular risk is if members of the public, can purposely or accidentally attempt to access our GSC [Guest Services Centre] offices, or our Guest Lounge, or set off fire, security, or other alarm systems.
“To counter this impact, we envisage that CSL will need to invest in significant sound insulation (especially in a call handling environment) and increased access security, to ensure security, and safety of CSL’s business and to mitigate the negative impact of the proposed development.
“The development is likely to cater for small or group bookings, families, and could include stag and hen parties visiting Inverness.
“It is impossible to anticipate the standards of behaviours, decorum, and respect for security, privacy and noise impact for the neighbouring property, by the future holiday-let customers.”
She added: “CSL consider that the applications do not include sufficient assessment of the material considerations set out in this letter. Without proper assessment and mitigation of these issues (by planning conditions or other aspects of your decision-making process), then the proposed development is detrimental to CSL’s secure, private, and safe use of the building.”
CSL operates its Guest Lounge in 1 Union Street from 8.30am to 10.30am for its Club Guests arriving into the city, and in the evenings, from 6.30pm to 8.45pm prior to services departing towards London. It welcomes approximately 3400 guests to the Inverness Guest Lounge each year.
Caledonian Sleeper, being a night-time operation, also operates its Guest Services Centre (GSC) from the first floor, directly below the proposed development.
Council planners said: “The proposals accord with the provisions of the development plan and there are no material considerations which would warrant refusal of the application.”
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