Historic East Lothian hotel's fate to go to Scottish Ministers with plans for 14 flats

The Golf Hotel in the seaside town closed commercially in 2006 and had been used by its owners for staff accommodation until it was bought by Caledonian Heritable during the pandemic.

However plans to demolish the building and build 14 flats on the site, on Dirleton Avenue, were recommended for refusal by planning officers with dozens of local objections.

A meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee on Tuesday, March 4, overturned the advice to refuse permission to demolish the building and a separate application for the new flats.

The Golf Hotel in North Berwick. | LDR

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Both applications will now be continued for final approval after the committee was told a bat survey was required on site before the go ahead could be given.

And councillors were told the demolition of the building in North Berwick’s conservation area will have to be referred to Scottish Ministers after national body Historic Environment Scotland objected to the work.

The meeting heard that the former hotel had initially been a house for a single family who used it in the last century as a holiday home, even bringing their own cattle with them so the children did not have to drink local milk.

Caledonian Brewery bought the building in 2021 and applied for permission to demolish it and build 14 luxury flats on the site. Objectors to the demolition said the building should be given listed status and was an important part of the town’s conservation area.

However councillors voted by six votes to four to reject officers recommendation to refuse permission for the demolition. Separately, councillors voted against officers recommendations to refuse permission for the new flats, which will now come back to committee for formal approval once the bat survey is carried out.