Published: Friday, 21st March, 2008 09:00
New legal challenge over Crook Inn sale
By David Knox
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ONE of Scotland’s oldest pubs will return to the spotlight on Monday.
And its owner is ready to pour a pint of legal bitter over the heads of opposing councillors.
The Crook Inn at Tweedsmuir is at the centre of a furious row over plans to convert it into flats.
The 17th Century hostelry was closed in 2006 just months after businessman Jim Doonan took over.
And a few weeks later a planning application was submitted to turn the Crook into housing – much to the fury of locals with 155 letters of objection being tabled.
Mr Doonan was forced to market the hotel in 2007 to prove it was no longer a viable business before any planning permission would be granted.
But his inflated asking price of offers over £450,000 was deemed unrealistic by both campaigners and local politicians – with the independent District Valuer later putting a price of between £250,000 and £300,000 on the property.
Members of Tweeddale Area Committee decided at their meeting in January to go against their planning officials, who recommended approval, by demanding the Crook be put back on the market for four more months at a fairer price.
But the decision has not gone down well with the hotel owner – and his legal team has dished up several challenges to the new for-sale request.
Planning chiefs have now returned the application to turn the Crook into housing back for further consideration at Monday night’s Area Committee meeting.
Local principal planner Barry Fotheringham said: “Having had time to consider the decision of the Tweeddale Area Committee, the applicant advised that he is unwilling to undertake a further period of marketing at the lesser value suggested.
“It is suggested that the council is acting both unreasonably and ultra vires’ as there would not appear to be any current or emerging policy against which, such a request could be justified.”
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