Approval for church's new car park

The congregation applied to Aberdeenshire Council in a bid to create the facility on a vacant piece of land located opposite the church and primary school. They argued the area was needed to prevent “hazardous” parking that could sometimes lead to emergency services being unable to attend incidents. The church also said the car park was needed to address “significant” traffic issues that crop up when it hosts large services.

The area could accommodate visitors looking to access the nearby Mearns Coastal Trail Path, and parents of the local primary school would benefit during school drop-offs and pick-ups, preventing congestion on the surrounding narrow roads.

The new car park will have 51 standard spaces along with three disabled bays and five drop-off spaces. Access will be formed on the corner of Cliff Place and Beach Road.

The proposal proved to be extremely popular within the community as 117 letters of support were submitted to the council, saying it would be “hugely beneficial” to the village while others said it was “long overdue”.

However, 22 objections were also received, citing issues including a negative impact on hedgehogs and other biodiversity in the area. They also said the facility would encourage the use of cars instead of promoting walking and cycling.

St Cyrus Community Council gave the proposal its support, saying it was a “much-needed project” for the village. Council planners also backed the proposal as they claimed it would address significant parking issues in St Cyrus and reduce congestion on the local road network during busy times.

On behalf of the church, Dr Marshall Halliday said the car park would be a “considerable benefit” to the community.

He said: “The community is still expanding and this will have a knock-on effect on school attendance, and new tourist developments have been noticed in the last few years. This car park provides essential infrastructure to support these.”

Dr Halliday told members the car park would be managed by the church, noting he was “quite confident” they had the expertise within the congregation to do so.

Mearns councillor George Carr spoke out in support of the proposal as he is aware parking has been an issue in St Cyrus for a number of years.

He said: “There is the beach, school and church, and there is always a concern in that area about congestion and how we could resolve that. I think this provides a solution to take this forward.”

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside councillor Sarah Dickinson also backed the plan.

But she asked that the local authority’s roads team carry out talks with the church to ensure the car park surface will be appropriate for wheelchair users.

The application was unanimously approved.