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A plan to build a 40-bed hostel in the Isle of Jura’s main village for staff at the luxury golf resort at Jura House on the Ardfin Estate was headed for a local hearing after 25 people objected.
Ardfin Estate, a 12,000 acre estate on Jura’s southern tip bought by hedge-fund manager Greg Coffey in 2010, has applied to build ‘essential’ accommodation for 40 permanent and seasonal transient staff at its five-star hotel and 18-hole golf course.
The site in Craighouse, four miles away on Jura’s single track road, would share access with 10 new affordable houses on ‘Otter Brae’, just completed by West Highland Housing Association (WHHA).
In a design statement submitted to Argyll and Bute Council, Ardfin’s architects GCA Design explained: ‘Currently, staff are in temporary accommodation or ‘pods’ on the estate, but this is neither a long- or medium-term sustainable option for the hotel and golf course.
‘The site has been chosen to locate the staff as close as possible to the essential local amenity services at Craighouse, and to create a residential environment that is separate and distinct from their working environment.
‘The chosen site is within a pre-determined settlement zone, adjacent to existing utility services, and offers minimal visual impact when compared with alternative sites on the estate, closer to Jura House.’
The single and 1½ storey development is, it adds, ‘critical to the operation of Ardfin Estate and Golf Course, and it is anticipated that the employment generated by the business will contribute to sustaining population levels on the island and provide long-term employment opportunities including skills and knowledge.’
The target completion date is April 2023.
Objectors argue the plan will increase the island’s population by ‘a fifth’, and increase pressure on its ‘fragile’ infrastructure.
Jura Community Council said it ‘welcomes the development and understands the need for staff residential accommodation which supports the tourism industry, but it needs to be sustainable and in line with the island’s needs.
‘Current services and infrastructure such as road capacity, road safety, ferry service, shop storage, water and sewerage, utilities, and emergency and healthcare may be negatively impacted due to the scale of this development. Most of these services are already stretched beyond capacity.’
It also asked for a community consultation.
This call was echoed by one islander, who added: ‘Argyll and Bute Council should consider that population levels on Jura may already be at a maximum.
‘Our single track roads are currently in poor condition and increasing traffic on these will not only cause more maintenance issues, but are also health and safety concerns.
‘The council is already aware of our busy and not fit-for-purpose ferry, which continues to break down causing many issues for residents, businesses and visitors.
‘Our broadband is poor, we have limited mains water supply, and other council services are overstretched. Our out-of-hours medical service is precarious and policing on the island is ‘occasional’ at best.
‘If growth occurs before these elements are addressed, development becomes unsustainable.
‘Employment is always an attractive benefit and is used constantly as an inducement to ensure developments are approved.
‘The turnover of staff is large and the development of the estate has so far not provided many of the examples of high quality, secure employment expected of a five-star golf resort.’
Another islander wrote: ‘This application is neither appropriate, necessary, nor sustainable. The proposal would be better located adjacent to the principal location of staff employment at Jura House.’
A third said: ‘Jura is experiencing population growth, but the current infrastructure does not support this growth.
‘What is required are jobs and housing that enable people to put down roots and contribute to the life of the community, and not a reliance on seasonal staff whose presence puts pressure on infrastructure without contributing to the long-term development of the island.’
A fourth said: ‘The people this development will cater for will have no concern for, or understanding of, our community and its aspirations. Why should they? They will only be here for weeks, days in some cases.
‘Ardfin Estate already has a significant number of houses on the island which have largely been lying empty for a considerable time. These empty houses should be properly utilized before even more accommodation is built.’
A fifth said: ‘If there is to be further development of this piece of land, it should be to build additional affordable housing to meet local needs, not a hostel to meet the needs of the estate.’
A sixth said: ‘I have lived my entire life on the island of Jura (44 years) and cherish it greatly for all that it has to offer in terms of wilderness, environment, safety and solitude.
‘[My wife] and I have a small family and wish for them to enjoy the unspoiled beauty of Jura for themselves and their families in the future. This development in its current form runs the risk of eroding everything [we] hold dear about living on Jura.’
Council planners have recommended councilors approve the plan, but have also recommended a public hearing for all parties to have their say.
An officer said in a handling report: ‘The timing of submission has precluded direct neighbor notification of adjacent properties within a WHHA scheme that will be directly impacted by the proposed development, as it will share access.’
The application was due to be considered by the council’s planning, protective services and licensing committee on Wednesday September 28.