New Penicuik rural home rejected as Midlothian council say plans 'completely unjustified'

A bid to build a house on a field used as an outdoor riding school has been rejected after planners said it was too far away from neighbouring houses.

Applicant Brian McPhillips wanted to put a new three bedroom home in a field at Fallhills, Penicuik, which he said would become part of an already established housing development next to the site known as Fallhills Court.

However planners described the site as ‘relatively remote countryside’ saying the nearest house would be 45 metres away.

Rejecting the proposal planning officers said: “The proposal is a completely unjustified attempt to build a new house in the Midlothian countryside.”

Mr McPhillips told planners: “The site is located within an external horse riding school area to the left of the access road leading to Fallhills Court.

“The proposed house would form part of the grouping of the existing Fallhills development.”

But council officers said that although there were nine houses at Fallhills and potential for one more, the site chosen by the applicant was too far away.

They said: “The site is not a gap site and does not adjoin the group. The site is detached from the houses that form the grouping, with the closest point between boundaries over 35 metres away, with at least 45 metres between houses.

“This is separated by a field. It is worth noting that this field was refused planning permission for a house under the housing group policy as this was considered too detached from the group.

“The current application site is still further from this group.”

Refusing planning permission officers said that it had not been demonstrated the proposed house ‘genuinely relates to an existing housing group’.

They said: “There is no justification for the development of a residential unit in this countryside location.”