Developers 'aim to rip heart out of our village'

FOR more than 140 years, an old coaching inn has been the beating heart of the quaint Angus village of Hillside.

But now villagers are fighting to prevent their only hotel being converted into flats by property developers.

Hillside has united in its battle against the move, which locals say will "devastate and divide" the community and dozens have submitted written objections to the plans lodged with the local council.

Since 1869, the Hillside Hotel, nestled in the heart of the sought-after village on the outskirts of Montrose, has been the focal point for special occasions, weddings, birthdays, funerals, community gatherings, high teas, lunches and evening tipples.

Villagers say the hotel has "always" been busy, and regularly required booking to get a table at the restaurant.

But since developers William Percy and Gerry McPherson took it over three years ago, locals have accused them of "deliberately" running it down to pave the way for plans to convert it into flats.

The developers last month lodged plans with Angus Council to convert the building into eight one and two-bedroom flats. In response to local pressure, they have reinstated a small public bar into their proposals but locals say this will not replace what is being lost.

Ten days ago, more than 100 residents crammed into the village hall to vent their anger and opposition to the plans.

Claire Barnett, 29, who ran the hotel with her parents for six years before selling it to the developers in 2007, said: "When we sold it, it was running at full capacity, fully booked almost every day, restaurant fully booked at weekends, and the bar was chock-a -block. We had two pool teams and two darts teams.

"But they have run it right down. They lost their sports teams, they closed the restaurant last year, and the locals have been treated terribly. It was a big error selling it to them.

"It's quite upsetting actually, especially working so hard on the hotel for six years and putting your whole life into it. And then, within a year of selling, it's gone right downhill.

"Everyone is so gutted. The whole local community seems dead against it. I hope they all come out against it. The hotel has served the village for 141 years and survived a lot of things, I hope it can survive this."

Gill Davies, who runs the local post office, is also vociferous in her opposition, and says she speaks for the "majority" of the locals.

She said: "Before this pair took over, the hotel was the absolute heartbeat of the community. But within a month of taking over the hotel, they told everyone coming in that they had designs to turn it into flats.

"They just want to cash in on this hotel.They are allegedly going to leave a pub in on the bottom floor but it's not going to work realistically, not if they are going to have rented accommodation. It's been quite a deliberate move by them, to run the place down, just so they can turn it into flats."

Davies added: "It is a fabulous hotel and Hillside is a really nice village. It is a really sought-after area. It would devastate and divide the village if we lost it."

The Scottish Licensed Trades Association said the hotel's potential closure was symptomatic of the loss of rural amenities across the country, where, it estimates, five pubs are shutting down every week.

Paul Waterson, the SLTA chief executive, said: "Unfortunately, throughout Scotland we are losing pubs, and in UK terms we're losing about 40 a week. Very often these establishments are the heart and soul of the community that they serve. So anything we can do to hang on to these pubs is welcomed."

The hotel's owners refused to comment about their plans. In the written statement supporting their application, the developers say: "The changing economic climate has made operating a hotel challenging. Montrose has an ample supply of hotel rooms, with over 14 hotels and guesthouses in and around the area, and a generous amount of public houses per head of the population.

"Generally, the trade for our hotel is oil workers and businessmen from the nearby training facility - and not from holidaymakers.

"These individuals will still be coming to Montrose if the hotel was to close, and so the wider community will continue to benefit from securing this trade."

The developers said that they had revised their original design to retain a public bar, adding "which, to some residents, was considered a local amenity." The business will either be leased or sold.