Fife Council approve Yoga Social plans near Charlestown

They have reached a legal agreement with applicant Lisa Mulube that will finally give her the consent she needs for the range of therapy sessions she offers at her peaceful site at The Foundry, at Iron Mill Bay near Charlestown.

She may have made good use of the "mindfulness labyrinth" that's on the grounds as it's been a saga that's lasted for years, with planning red tape, road safety issues and the law of the land adding to a stressful situation.

Ms Mulube started the Yoga Social in 2017 and has been using the yurt for sessions since August 2021, however she wasn't aware that she needed planning permission.

An application for retrospective consent, including an outbuilding and shed on her land, was submitted in February 2023.

The yoga yurt in the countryside at Charlestown. (Image: Supplied)

She runs four-to-five classes per week, for up to eight people at a time, and a supporting statement explained: "The yurt is situated next to a pond and surrounded by a wildflower meadow.

"This creates a space deeply connected to earth and water. The canvas outer creates an immediate connection to the wind and sky and the wood burning stove provides a source of fire and warmth.

"As soon as you enter the space, a feeling of peace descends."

However, council officers recommended refusal and enforcement action, while councillors on the west and central planning committee were broadly in favour but couldn't come to a decision.

Road safety was the main issue, in particular the visibility splays from a private road onto the West Road, which has a 60mph speed limit.

They met again in December 2023 and said they wouldn't grant permission until a legal agreement had been reached to address those concerns - a move Ms Mulube's agent deemed "excessive".

Planning officer Brian Forsyth had maintained that the proposals would constitute an "unjustified" development in the countryside, would result in a "significant uplift" in traffic and would be served by a "substandard private road with substandard visibility" onto the C7 West Road.

He told the committee that, while it may be desirable, there was no proven need for yoga and therapy sessions to take place in a countryside location.

The site is north-west of Charlestown, sits within 980 square metres of grounds and is reached by a private road that also serves two other properties and a Scottish Water wastewater treatment site.

Council officers said that, if plans were to be approved, they wanted a legal agreement in place to make sure hedgerows and vegetation were regularly cut back and maintained to ensure drivers could easily see any traffic on the road.

More than two years on and the end is now in sight.

A legal agreement between the council, applicant and the Earl of Elgin has now been signed and the local authority have now confirmed that planning permission has been granted.

It states that the applicant, with the consent of the landowner (Lord Elgin), will carry out, at their expense, "all works required to form the visibility splays".

And that the landowner "shall have no responsibility for forming or maintaining the visibility splays".

Ms Mulube said future plans could include converting the cottage ruins on the site into a workshop/ studio space for "talking therapy, art therapy, sound therapy and other holistic practices that fit with the ethos of nurturing body, mind and spirit".