Stella McCartney’s Highlands holiday home sparks backlash with objections from across UK

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Fashion designer Stella McCartney’s plans for an ultra-modern holiday house in the Scottish Highlands have been met with a backlash from across the UK.

Proposals submitted in the name of Ms McCartney’s husband, Alasdhair Willis, show a glass and concrete house, on Roshven Bay, designed by architects Brown and Brown.

Planning permission was granted for the site in 2000, but objectors have said the new design is very different from the original, with 54 comments submitted to Highland Council urging it to be rejected.Concerns were raised by neighbours and visitors as far away as Kent and Somerset about issues including the impact on an otter population, removal of Scots pine trees, and sailors being “blinded” by glare from the glass.Wildlife in Roshven Bay inspired Victorian illustrator Jemima Blackburn, and some objections cited the historic connections as a reason for rejecting the plans, while others said priority should be given to affordable housing.The former owner of the site, Karen White, from Taunton, Somerset, wrote: “We obtained planning permission for this to be a permanent family home.“Great care was taken to make the house unobtrusive and appropriate for the stunning environment and setting.

We understood that the new purchaser was planning a modest home. Unfortunately, this application does not respect the site.“There is a family of otters on the headland which will be disrupted if the building impinges on the cliff and I have also seen newts in the pools.“The woodland in which the master bedroom spur is sited is ancient Scottish Oak woodland and should be preserved.”Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as