Scottish Catholic Observer

On September 3, a bid was made by a property developer to obtain planning permission to build 12 detached family houses, with a total of 38 bedrooms and 24 car parking spaces, on a plot of land beside Barnhill Farm.

The area set for the housing proposal is less than 100 metres away from the edge of the Pluscarden Abbey grounds.

The Abbey was not in favour of the proposal, particularly as there is already a small group of six houses nearby in Abbeylands Road, built in the 1960s to house the estate farm workers. The new project would more than triple the number of residents close to the abbey.

Objections

Those who disagreed with the proposal could make objections to Moray council until Thursday October 24. Almost 50 people have objected to the planning application.

Fr Giles Conacher of Pluscarden Abbey said: “On a personal level, I’m against the houses being built.

“The abbey has been my home for almost fifty years. There was a previous proposal to build more houses about 20 years ago and, after a public inquiry, the proposal was rejected.

“The importance of the peace and beauty of the valley in which the abbey is set was recognised when the recent proposal to route the dual-carriageway upgrade of the A96 through the valley was rejected.

“The proposer is suggesting the houses are for local workers, but not even the seven existing houses (from the early 1960s) are used for local workers, so why build 12 more?”

Overloaded

Fr Conacher added that building more houses ‘will overload local services,’ as ‘the local school is already full,’ for example.

He added: “People live in the country for a bit of space and peace and quiet, and these houses are packed together very densely.”

Additionally, the proposed development is across from the site of the new women’s retreat house.

Fr Conacher said: “People come here for peace and quiet, and 12 households, each with a double garage, will not contribute to that.

“I have stayed in many monasteries, and there are very few which enjoy the peace that Pluscarden has—there are airports, railway lines, motorways, housing estates, traffic, noise everywhere.

“Here you can hear the bats squeaking, the deer barking, lambs bleating, birds singing, the wind in the trees. It would be sad to lose that, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Peacefulness

Fr Conacher added that although Pluscarden Abbey encourage people to visit, they are, at the same time, ‘not trying to make it a major visitor attraction’, saying that ‘the abbey’s motto is a quotation from the Prophet Haggai: “In this place I will give peace.’’

“The original monks chose this spot deliberately, and they did well. In a world which is waking up to the importance of pollution, the need to conserve the resources we have, as Pope Francis never tires of preaching, the peace of Pluscarden is one such irreplaceable resource, I hope it will be respected.”

There have been 47 objections submitted to Moray Council’s website. One objection states the new houses would be ‘of no benefit to the existing community in Pluscarden’ and would ‘ruin the tranquillity’ of the valley.

Tranquility

Another states: “It is plainly obvious that this has been an area of natural beauty and tranquillity for centuries.

“Do you realise that this is one of the few working orders of Benedictine monks in Pluscarden? This is a silent order.”

Another objection adds: “The abbey needs its quietness. It is a shame to destroy the uniqueness of such a landmark.”

Moray Council were unable to comment as the planning process is still underway.