Plans to turn historic Fife hotel into flats and houses

The Woodside Hotel was built in 1873 and has been described as a “landmark” on Aberdour’s High Street but in recent years its viability as a business was said to be “in question”.

Owners John and Lis McTaggart, who took over the hotel in 2017, were granted permission in 2021 to scale back operations and last year put it on the market for £750,000.

The couple had been granted permission in 2018 to change the use of parts of the hotel to two residential townhouses, but, following added pressures due to the pandemic, they instead modified layouts to reduce the number of changes required and planned to retain more of the existing building.

READ MORE: Scale back of hotel approved

Now they have submitted a planning application to Fife Council requesting permission to change the building’s use from a hotel to two dwelling houses and three flatted dwellings.

This would also involve a single storey extension to the rear, the installation of rooflights, replacement doors and windows and associated infrastructure including the formation of a staircase.

They have also applied for Listed Building Consent for the extension and external alterations.

A planning and heritage statement submitted by Calton Planning and Development on behalf of the applicants said the hotel had relied on a “feast or famine” framework, where the hotel would receive enough business in the busy summer months to subsidise for a quiet winter period.

It also says that when the McTaggarts purchased the building, it was in “disrepair, every room, and every part of the building needed renovation”.

In addition, it outlines how food sales were a “disappointment”, how the applicants struggled to attract diners, and how “no local patrons came into the bar”.

Attempts to downsize were also unsuccessful, the number of rooms at the hotel was decreased from 20 down to 13, but the owners still struggled to attract staff and faced rising energy bills.

READ MORE: Fife village B-listed hotel up for sale for £750,000

In August 2020 the hotel’s function room, bar and Clipper restaurant flooded in a storm and the building was unable to reopen until repairs were made.

Work to repair flood damage was not completed until May 2021 but the effects of the pandemic still lingered and the owners “made the difficult business decision that they could not continue as a public venue as it was not viable to do so.”

The statement said: “The world had changed. Covid brought a decline in overseas visitors.

“Domestic consumer behaviour changed, people got used to staying at home and invested in their own properties.

“All these developments meant footfall and custom was reduced dramatically.

“It was challenging maintaining a viable business through the winter pre-pandemic, and now virtually impossible post pandemic.

“All over the UK, hospitality businesses are closing due to subsequent knock-on impacts from the pandemic, the loss of staff from Brexit, high energy bills that we are now seeing from the cost-of-living crisis which has facilitated lower consumer spending and changed consumer behaviour post pandemic.

“Family hotels such as The Woodside are also being squeezed by a plethora of budget chains and Airbnb properties.”

Three elements of the hotel buildings have been identified for work, the three-storey central section, the two-storey wing to the west and the single-storey function spaces to the rear containing kitchens, toilets and bars.

The two wings to the east already have planning permission to convert into dwellings.

The central, main part of the hotel, would be “sympathetically converted” to form three flatted three-bedroom dwellings while the west wing would become a four-bedroom single property.

The demolition of the existing, non-original, rear outbuildings that house the kitchens, toilets, bar and restaurant has also been proposed to make way for a garden area or extensions to the properties.

John and Lis McTaggart also owned McTaggarts cafe on Aberdour High Street, but that closed in August last year after the couple struggled to secure staff.