A derelict listed building on a prime spot in Bridge of Allan could be turned into flats after controversial plans for a care home were axed.
Mansion Holdings Properties (1) Ltd has submitted a listed building consent application to Stirling Council for the early Victorian property at 103 Henderson Street, which is currently vacant but was last used as a hotel.
The proposal involves removing unoriginal extensions, making internal alterations to repair structural failure and extensions to turn the C-listed sandstone villa into 14 residential apartments.
In documents submitted with the application, agents said that over the years there had been “substantial addition and alteration” to the building - which once operated as the Eagleton Hotel then the Ivy Hotel - to accommodate additional bedrooms, kitchens and entertainment spaces.
They added: “The building is currently unoccupied and in poor condition.
“Previous proposals by the owners to diversify to an alternative use through applications for a care home have proven ultimately unsuccessful.”
They added that the current owners felt an alternative residential use would “prove a more sympathetic alternative given the location and setting”.
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“The intention is to maintain the important features which contribute to the character of the conservation area and the setting of the listed building. Existing street frontage will be maintained and, unlike previous proposals, the original plot size will be retained.
“The stone boundary walls which define plots and are a major defining character of the area will also be maintained.
“There are no specimen trees of any quality within the plot but it is proposed to retain the trees to the street frontage. We feel the above approach will maintain the contribution the plot makes to the special character of the Conservation area.”
“Our clients seek to convert the building into residential accommodation in order to prevent the villa from falling into disrepair.”
Originally built as a house, the building was eventually extended and converted into the Eagleton Hotel, and more recently The Ivy Hotel, which closed in 2018.
“The owner has listed the property for sale for several years, however prospective buyers have never concluded the sale due to the site being unviable for their purposes,” said the agents.
“A planning application to convert the hotel into a Care Home was submitted in 2021, however the application was refused due to inappropriate design proposals, and an improper use class for the site.
“The building has been extended several times over the years, in a variety of architectural styles and constructions, which have been built into the retained landscape as the ground levels begin to rise towards the back of the site.”
Plans for a three-storey, 60-bed, care home on the site by Simply UK were turned down by Stirling Council officials last year saying the proposals represented ‘a visually incongruous form of development which would have a detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the immediate area and the surrounding locality’.
More than 20 objections had been lodged and Bridge of Allan Community Council had pointed out the scheme was not in keeping with the Conservation Area, and Henderson Street, and constituted “overdevelopment”.
