Plans to turn historic Fife hotel into flats and houses given the go ahead

The Category B-list building sits on the village’s central High Street as a prominent well-known landmark, but owners say it’s no longer possible to make a viable living from its operation as a hotel.

After years of fighting an uphill battle, John McTaggart, a co-owner of the Woodside Hotel, has made the difficult business decision to turn the hotel into housing.

The impacts of the pandemic, recruitment issues, high energy bills, an ongoing cost of living crisis, and a “plethora of budget chains and Airbnbs” have all hit the Woodside and the wider hospitality industry hard.

“Although the Woodside is not vacant or derelict as of yet, the proposed development is seeking to address the situation before it gets to a stage where it is both vacant and derelict,” the planning statement continued.

This is not the first time that part of the hotel has been converted into housing. In 2021, the hotel scaled back its operations, reducing the main hotel from 20 to 13 bedrooms. It was hoped that reducing the size of the hotel would help it stay afloat.

The owners also changed it to an exclusive use hotel a few years ago in another attempt to keep the doors open.

However, it wasn’t enough to save the business, and the McTaggarts have actively marketed the Woodside Hotel for more than two years with no forthcoming offers or interest.

The Hotel dates back to 1873 and is an important part of Aberdour’s skyline. However, in recent years it fell into a state of disrepair with “every room and every part of the building” in need of renovation.

Despite its state, the McTaggarts purchased the property in 2017 believing they could “turn around the hotel’s fortunes.” He carried out major refurbishments and improvements to the fabric of the building – and its reputation.

However, lockdown hit the Woodside Hotel particularly hard, and the hotel also had to contend with major flood damage after a freak storm put its function room, bar and Clipper restaurant out of action for months.

Despite changing its operating model,launching cabaret style live music nights, themed dining evenings, and establishing it as a live music venue playing host to a number of renowned singer-songwriters and musicians, Mr McTaggart has said it is no longer viable to run as a business.

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

It’s not the only locally owned and operated hotel struggling to stay afloat. Mr McTaggart’s planning statement highlighted that the Aberdour Hotel has also been placed on the market for sale.

The approved plans make way for the hotel to be transformed into two houses and three flats.

The aim is to convert the central main part of the hotel into three distinct high quality flats while the hotel’s west wing will become a single four-bedroom home. The application also proposes converting a smaller laundry building to the rear of the hotel into a unique smaller one-bedroom home.

The proposal also aims to demolish the existing rear outbuildings which house the kitchens and toilets along with the bar and restaurant to form gardens or extensions to the proposed properties.

The plans also include the addition of solar panels, rooflights, external parking, replacement doors and windows, and landscaping.

The idea is to create “well-proportioned residential dwellings that do not overdevelop the site or existing buildings and are respectful and would be a positive contribution to the fabric of the village,” a planning statement explained.

It continued: “We recognize the importance of the original hotel and its position in the Conservation Area and wider village context and the proposals have been formulated to respect this and not be detrimental or too intensely developed.”

Although the hotel will undoubtedly undergo a lot of changes, developers say that the external appearance – particularly from High Street – will remain unchanged.