Green light for Aberdeenshire hotel revamp

Councillors have backed plans to redevelop an Aberdeenshire hotel.The Udny Arms in Newburgh will reopen with 12 en-suite rooms and manager’s flat, while an existing annexe would be demolished to make way for five terraced townhouses.The proposals had been deferred to establish how neighbours would be affected by the new development. Planning permission was delayed in June while council officers investigated whether the three-storey townhouses would cast any significant shadows in the area.But this week members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Formartine area committee agreed with planners recommendations and gave the project their approval.A report by Stephen Archer, the director of infrastructure services at Aberdeenshire Council, recommended the councillors allow planners to grant the approval under delegated powers.