NEIGHBOURS of a lottery-winning couple who are set to build a £5million mega mansion have hit out after plans were approved.
Multimillionaires Lisa Charters, 33, and her husband Craig, 34, who scooped a massive £33million windfall, have been given the green light to build a Hollywood Hills-style pad in the Morningside area of Edinburgh.
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Two years ago the couple snapped up the modest three-bed bungalow by paying £200,000 over the asking price of £670,000.
Locals lodged 63 letters of objection to the pricey plan, which involves knocking down a hilltop 1950s bungalow and constructing a three-storey villa.
But an Edinburgh City Council committee still offered the go-ahead after councillors visited the leafy area in the south of the capital.
Planning officials said the continued residential use of the site will “support” transport services in the area.
Speaking to The Sun today, one resident fumed: “We’re just disappointed with the height and that it’s gone through. There’s quite a lot of people that aren’t happy about it.
“Some people have issues with the look of it, sticking out is unusual. The height of it will have an impact on our gardens in the summer.
“We’re disappointed that given the scale of objection the sort of comments are like ‘this is great’. They’ve justified it on public transport and things that just don’t stack up.
“These guys aren’t going to take buses. We’ve all been quite shocked by it.”
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Another commented: “It’s been a long, drawn out hoo-ha for something that was going to be inevitable anyway.
“A third said: “Nobody’s very pleased. But we must think of the buses.”
Lisa Charters’ parents, David and Carol Martin, won £33 million on the National Lottery in 2016 and gave her a share.
Her and her husband’s new pad will offer a breath-taking vista of the city and striking views of iconic spots, including Edinburgh Castle and the Forth bridges.
The Charters’ initial plans were redrawn after the planning furore last year, reducing the height of the building by 1.5 metres and moving it slightly away from a neighbour’s property.
But some of the objectors took exception to planning officials from City of Edinburgh Council using public transport reasons as part of their case recommending the new scheme for approval.
The document states: “Lothian Bus service 15 is an approximate eight-minute walk away onto Pentland Terrace, which provides access into the city centre.
“The local centre on Comiston Road is accessible in a 16-minute walk or 13-minute bus journey via Lothian Service no.11.
“The continued residential use on-site will help support these local facilities.”
Councillor Euan Hyslop said: “I can understand why there have been a number of concerns raised by neighbouring residents.
“But I think it is a fitting addition. It is modern, uncompromisingly modern, which is a good way of putting it.
“But I think it is an architecturally really interesting application…I can’t see it having a massive impact on amenity. It is a welcome application and I will be supporting it.”
Hal Osler, chair of the Development Management sub committee, added: “This has been a really interesting application.
“It was quite complicated when it came to us. A lot of work has been done in changing the respective orientation of the building to take on board various comments.
“This is the second iteration of this, so the applicant was mindful of the initial massing and dominance of the building and reduced it. It is difficult. It is a new build, they are trying to be sustainable and they are trying to move forward.
“Going forward, I think we’re going to get a few sites where there are going to be changes to what is present there. I do admire the applicants for bringing this forward as it is extremely challenging.
“I hope they manage to build it and have a wonderful time living there. I, for one, will be supporting it.”
Edinburgh-based architect Richard Murphy said: “I’m delighted that the committee passed this unanimously.”
The Sun approached Mr and Mrs Charters for comment.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
