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Victoria Street building plans under attack
Neighbouring property owners have lashed out at Orkney Housing Association plans for a four-storey office building in a Kirkwall conservation area. A number of Victoria Street business people and residents joined forces on Monday night in a bid to see current plans for the project thrown out by councillors at the next OIC planning committee meeting later this month. While they agreed that they have no problem with OHAL’s original development plans for a two-storey building in part, the latest proposal for a development double the size would be detrimental to the street, they feel. Petitions will be available in businesses in Victoria Street for residents in the area only to sign against the plans, it was also revealed following the get together. Aaron Boddy, of the Orkney Hotel, was present at the meeting and outlined a number of concerns raised. “The opinion was that the development was not in the interests of the local area for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a conservation area and such a large-scale development is not in keeping with the area. “The OHAL argument that the development fits in with the rest of the street as it has been scaled to be smaller than the Orkney Hotel is somewhat misleading, as the hotel is by far and away the largest structure on the street, but unlike the new proposal, the hotel dates back to 1670. Secondly, he said that there could be major disruption for businesses and customers. “There are genuine fears over the accessibility of the site. Thirdly, amenities – for close-by neighbours, there is an issue of lighting and being overlooked.” Mr Boddy continued: “The primary concern within amenities is the limited number of car parking spaces within the area, especially in light of the number of known and believed developments that are taking place which are going to restrict the available spaces.” Those at the meeting stressed, however, that they would have welcomed the addition of another business in the street – just not on this scale. A fellow businessman, who asked not to be named, said any street closures in the past had had a detrimental and obvious effect on “till takings”. “Everyone has no problem with OHA having offices on that site but only the proposal that first went forward for a two-storey building. Everyone feels that this belongs on the Jewson’s site.” The legitimacy of whether OHAL should be allowed to spend money on a building of much greater size than required for the Orkney staff was also questioned at the meeting. “They intend to rent out to justify the size of the building. I do not know if that is part of their remit. They are meant to use their money to build houses,” the businessman added. The former James M. Croy ladieswear shop was purchased by the association two years after it first came on the market – a deliberate decision, according to Sally Inkster, OHAL deputy executive director. “That was a conscious decision on our part because it was a retail outlet and we wanted to see first if there was a commercial business who wanted it. We did not want to compete. “In the end we had been unable to find any other suitable accommodation.” The association moved into its current premises, off a lane on Victoria Street, prior to 1988. “We have grown a lot since then – we had four bedsits then, now we have over 500 houses. We find the premises are too small for us now, they are not fully wheelchair accessible and it is not practical for us to try and make them so. “I am sure that our clients would want us to be fairly central and accessible,” she said. It was in November, 2004, that councillors recommended outline planning permission for a change of use into offices. At that time, there was no design brief, other than association plans to see the property extended into a two-storey development. Within the application the planning officials state: “The majority of Victoria Street’s townscape is two-storey and a two-storey frontage on this site, if designed skilfully, would not adversely effect the character of the conservation area. “The two-storey element should only occupy the west side of the site and front Victoria Street, apart from the necessary step down at the southern end. The majority of the site should therefore not be two-storey.” Ms Inkster indicated that at that time that they intended to make it more than one-storey but did not have any plans drawn up. OHAL went out to design tender and awarded the contract to Maurice Davidson. “We have been working it up ever since then,” she continued. “We were aware that there was a demand for office space in Kirkwall among other organisations, volunteer groups we work with, and we were also aware it would be more cost efficient to make a bigger building.” As to fears of a loss of light, the director claimed that the roof proposed will be level with that of the neighbouring Blide Trust. “We have scaled it so that it is smaller than the Orkney Hotel alongside. The hotel has got four and a half storeys. The highest point of the tower, which is the lift for wheelchair access, still does not exceed the highest point of the Orkney Hotel.” Ms Inkster acknowledged that there would be traffic management issues, which, she said, they would be keen to work out with fellow businesses. “Another issue that has been raised is parking. There is just not parking available in Victoria Street. There is free parking at the Phoenix car park and at the back of the bus station for 116 free spaces, plus extra paying car park space at the back of Bruce’s Stores.” Ms Inkster said she is happy to meet with the objectors prior to the planning meeting this month. The deadline for objections is Wednesday, March 8. “We feel what we are doing is an enhancement. If we bring more people into Victoria Street surely that can only be good for the street. The building we are removing is not a listed building, but anything we put in a conservation area has to fit. We are not looking for any special treatment.” |
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