Council decision to deny permission for double doors on historic steading branded 'unfair'

The owner of a rural steading has accused East Lothian planners of behaving unfairly after they denied them permission to open a narrow doorway into double doors to allow ‘wheelchair access’.

Sandesh Pal has appealed to Scottish Ministers to step in after the council’s planners rejected their application to install French doors in the Category A listed building , in Innerwick, despite mirroring the design on their neighbours door entrances.

And they said the narrow door “hinders wheelchair access for family members and visitors with disabilities, making these alterations necessary”.

In their appeal to Scottish Ministers they say planning decisions at the Hunters Steading site, which was converted to housing more than 20 years ago, have been inconsistent with double doors and a roof window they applied for refused despite similar plans being approved for neighbours in the past.

They say: “The council’s refusal cited potential harm to the building’s historic fabric and visual imbalance, rejecting the roof window and door extension as modern interventions inconsistent with the character of the listed building.

“However, the proposed roof window matches already accepted on neighbouring properties and is hidden from public view.

The door extension would use timber-framed doors consistent with existing features, alongside detailed stonework exact to match neighbouring properties and current buildings character, challenging the council’s characterization of the changes as modern and intrusive.”

In their appeal they point to planning permissions which have been granted to neighbours in recent years for similar changes to their homes in the steading, including double doors and windows.

They said: “Currently, there are a number of properties in the Hunter Steading development that have double door openings or windows on wall openings, enlarged. These inconsistent decisions appear to be unfair.”

East Lothian Council refused permission for the roof window and double doors saying they would “harmfully disrupt and unbalance” the look of the building, adding that the ‘modern’ double doors would be ‘alien’ to the character of the listed building.

However the application said: “The design includes an exact mirror image of stone lintels and stone sizes, precisely matching the existing openings.”

The appeal is currently available for viewing on the Scottish Ministers appeal website.