Former abattoir at Berriedale to become holiday home on Welbeck Estate
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A former abattoir on a Caithness estate is to be turned into holiday accommodation after permission for the development was approved by Highland Council.
The 19th-century building at Berriedale will be converted into a one-bedroom cottage which will sleep up to two people.
The old Abattoir building, situated on the Welbeck Estate, is not a listed building according to Historic Environment Scotland but it lies close to other listed buildings.
The estate says it is located adjacent to the joinery workshop and is part of a cluster of buildings that originally supported light industrial uses along Mill Road, a private road off the A9 that runs east parallel to Berriedale Water, overlooking the mouth of the river.
Meat hooks and documents from the estate suggest the building was previously used as an abattoir. The plans included a change of use application from abattoir to holiday let, though the building has not been in use for some time.
In a supporting statement to planners, the applicants stated: “The building is constructed from rubble masonry walls with tooled rubble margins, a traditional Ballachulish slate roof, lead rolled ridge and central chimney stack.
“It is proposed to create a bedroom, with en-suite, within the existing double height ground floor space with the modest living/kitchen space located in the second ground floor room. A link will be created between the two ground floor rooms by a new simple opening formed in the thinner dividing wall to the side of the chimney breast.
“The living room’s loft floorboard is proposed to be removed to create a double height space. The building is weather tight and in a reasonable state of repair, with a moderate to small risk of deterioration.”
The plans form part of an overarching strategy by Welbeck Estate to increase provision of holiday accommodation in the area, which is on the North Coast 500, and support local employment opportunities.
It also wants to see more of its historic buildings brought back into use and preserved for the future.
The applications states: “The Welbeck Estate propose that the repaired and modified building will provide the opportunity for short stay residential/holiday use and associated employment through the support activities of management and cleaning of the property between visiting tenants, supporting the local economy and residential community.
“Returning the building to active use will also assist in funding the proposed repair works and supporting future maintenance. Whilst establishing the scope of the proposed works, the overarching objective has been to maintain and repair the building’s historic character and its contribution to the wider context of the village and nearby listed buildings.
“Bringing the building back into active use is, in our view, the best way of ensuring it is experienced and enjoyed by current and future generations.”
