PLANS for four villas to provide extra accommodation at a luxury Oban home have been given the go-ahead by council chiefs.

The plan, by a Mr P Sebright, will also involve associated works at Glencruitten House, after no objections were submitted by the public.

Argyll and Bute Council planning officers said that the proposed accommodation would have “no significant adverse impact” on the surrounding area.

Glencruitten House is an established B listed building which already offers luxury guest accommodation among several acres of land.

An officer said in a handling report: “The application site lies within the grounds of Glencruitten House which is an established guesthouse with extensive grounds, located to the east of Oban and accessed via a private track spurring off the C32 public road.

“The application site sits within a natural bowl around the southern end of the lake which forms part of the garden grounds for the guesthouse.

“The proposal looks to provide additional guest accommodation through the creation of four ancillary villa buildings which form detached units located to the southern side of the lake. The villas each have a floor area of 36 square metres and provide a bedroom and en-suite bathroom with all other facilities located in the existing guesthouse.

“Externally the units will feature stone clad elevations, under a natural slate roof, with timber decking on the northern elevation.”

The officer added: “A new parking area is proposed to the south of Glencruitten House which joins onto the existing private access. From here pedestrian paths link to the individual villas which are to be constructed of porous material.

“The siting and design of the proposed villas are considered to be an acceptable design solution for the site, with an appropriate scale and massing, subservient to the original guesthouse, which will ensure that it does not detract from the site or its setting within the wider landscape.

“On this basis the site is considered to represent a suitable opportunity for such a development to be erected without having any significant adverse visual impact on the site or its setting within the wider landscape.”