Councillors vote to demolish historic Shapinsay building

A row of former cottages which were once at the centre of agricultural innovation in Shapinsay are to be knocked down.

Balfour Cottage was built on the instruction of David Balfour of Balfour Castle in the 19th Century. It has since been reformed from a terrace into a single dwelling, and is now set to make way for supported housing for the elderly.

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) planning department has recommended the refusal of this application by Shapinsay Development Trust, but a meeting of the planning committee today (Monday) saw the majority of members take the opposite view.

The committee heard that the applicant had looked into options for refurbishing the property instead of demolishing and replacing it with a similar design, but this was found infeasible. Shapinsay Development Trust also explained that it had looked for undeveloped land to build on instead, but was unable to find anything of a suitable size in the proximity of Balfour village.

A vote of seven to four saw the application approved, subject to conditions.

More on this story in The Orcadian, available in shops and online from Wednesday afternoon.