Tesla boffins plan Aberdeen EV charging hub at derelict site left abandoned for 10 years.

Meanwhile, a yoga retreat outside of Peterhead has been permitted, and a decades-long struggle over Garioch hedges has reached a conclusion.

The group behind bringing Tesla’s Superchargers to the UK intends to establish an EV charging facility in Aberdeen’s city centre.

Meanwhile, the council has finally resolved a decades-long high hedge issue in Kemnay.

These and other suggestions are included in the most recent Planning Ahead, our regular round-up of the most fascinating proposals being considered throughout the northeast.

Every week, we bring readers a selection of proposals submitted to our councils to effect large and little changes in our communities. First, we discuss plans for a new farm shop near Newmachar.

Newmachar farm shop plans approved

Plans to convert a redundant structure into a farm shop have been approved.

In 2024, Simon Hay, the owner of Buckie Farm, filed plans to build the store on ground opposite his fields. According to the papers, Mr Hay will sell both his own farm items and offerings from other farms in the vicinity.

The proposals include constructing a canopy to create a “more welcoming main entrance” at what is currently a somewhat drab building.

Proposals submitted to Aberdeenshire Council suggest that “these changes will dramatically improve the appearance of the building and help to regenerate the site.”

A new kitchen with a serving hatch will also be built, with hot food for sale at the Newmachar farm shop.

Albyn Hospital to get expensive equipment upgrade

Meanwhile, an Aberdeen hospital plans to modernise its equipment under large-scale new ideas.

The Albyn Hospital in the West End plans to install a new MRI scanner at its private facility.

A Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine is a scanner that employs powerful magnets and radio waves to produce detailed images of patients’ inside organs.

James Hutchison from the University of Aberdeen invented the revolutionary piece of equipment in the Granite City in the 1970s.

Inverurie children’s home planned

Aberdeenshire Council intends to open a children’s care home in Inverurie town centre.

33A High Street was once a photographer’s studio before being transformed into a residence.

The property has now been taken up by the local administration in order to be converted into a home for children in need.

Drawings indicate a “breakout/games room” on the ground floor, as well as six bedrooms on two storeys.

Kemnay man’s decades-old battle to have neighbour’s hedge chopped down

A few miles away, an Aberdeenshire farmer has been permitted to maintain his “high hedge” after a neighbour petitioned the council to have it removed.

James and Fiona Campbell, who live in Cruachan to the south of the town, targeted adjacent homeowners Eamon O’Connell and Branda Holohan.

Mr and Mrs Campbell have resided there since 1976 and claim to have lost the views they always enjoyed. They claim they sent “numerous letters” to the neighbours and even hired a solicitor to handle the situation.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell claim that the high hedge has caused “damage to our property, deterioration of external property finishes and landscape surfaces”. They are also concerned about “health and safety risks” from slick surfaces and “tree debris” dropping on their property.

According to a letter to Aberdeenshire Council, there is “real concern for our safety during storms and concern for our property”. At last they complain of “significant nuisance, maintenance, cost and distress over a prolnged period, and increasing each year upon year” .

Letters dating back to 1994 have been submitted to the local council, demonstrating how long this dispute has been simmering.

For background, this is the exact date when the recently reformed Oasis released their debut single, Supersonic. Beethoven’s 2nd was the top-grossing film in the UK that week.

And what did the council decide?

Council experts have now spoken out on the decades-long affair.

The hedge is described as “a row of two or more trees or shrubs, rising to a height of more than two meters.”

However, the report adds that “they are not deemed a significant barrier to light to Cruachan, Craigearn due to the height of the hedges, the size and configuration of the garden, the orientation of the hedges, and the separation distance between the hedges and the nearest habitable room windows.”

The hedges have limited impact and do not interfere with reasonable enjoyment of the property.Council experts have now weighed in on the decades-old saga.

They acknowledge that the hedge here does “comprise of a row of two or more trees or
shrubs, and rises to a height of more than two metres”.

But the report adds: “However, they are not deemed a significant barrier to light to Cruachan, Craigearn due to the height of the hedges, the size and configuration of the garden, the orientation of the hedges, and the separation distance between the hedges and the nearest habitable room windows.

The impact from the hedges is considered minimal, and does not adversely affect the
reasonable enjoyment of the property.”

Newmachar housing scheme met with backlash

Back to Newmachar, where proposals to build 140 homes are being greeted with opposition from residents.

Persimmon Homes is to create the property in the town’s north-west, adjacent to the Newmachar Junior FC stadium.

The York-based home builders previously had bids for 146 houses rejected in February due to insufficient open space on the property.

However, Persimmon dwellings has gone back to the drawing board and somewhat reduced the amount of dwellings in their plans.

What are the plans?

Drawings show a mix of one, two, three, and four-bedroom dwellings as part of the scheme, as well as 35 “affordable homes” to meet council requirements.

Access to the development would be via Corseduick Road and Rowan Avenue, with the latter being extended.

To address the open space issue, architects have proposed drawings of parks to the north-east and south-west of the site, along with a “community orchard.”

Despite meeting local government criteria, people continue to raise concerns about the development’s potential impact.

New homes will ‘put pressure on GPs’

More than 35 Newmachar locals have protested to the proposal, citing a burden on local services as a justification for planners to halt the development.

David Macleod, who lives close adjacent to the site, said that GPs will be under “further pressure” and that this could lead to lengthier wait times for residents of the area.

These sentiments were mirrored by Paul Smith, who lamented that the town’s lack of doctors and dentists would result in “another 200 cars” clogging the Oldmeldrum and Dyce roads.

“I strongly object to any further development until I see increased facilities for the existing population of Newmachar,” says Mr. Smith.

Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com