The neighbor's explosion after lotto winners left their house empty for a year and then abandoned it
Neighbors of a lottery couple who walked away from plans build a £5 million mega-mansionThere is a cloud of smoke on the site of a bungalow after the parental home has been empty for more than a year.
Lisa Charters, 34, and her husband Craig, 35, angered neighbors in Edinburgh's posh Morningside last year by applying for planning permission to demolish the modest three-bedroom 1950s property.
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The pair wanted to replace the existing house with a “Grand Designs” style structure with zinc cladding, white brick and a long, paved driveway.
Award-winning architect Richard Murphy was brought in to develop plans for the three-storey, five-bedroom property which overlooks the capital.
But almost a year after their controversial plan was approved by Edinburgh City Council, the couple eloped last week.
They are now putting the vacant building up for sale for £95,000 less than they paid for it, after leaving it empty for more than a year.
Furious neighbors submitted 63 objections against the expensive plan.
And now that the plans have been scrapped, one irritated resident commented on how the plan had left a 'perfectly good' house out of use all this time.
They said: “None of us were particularly happy with the proposed mansion – 63 objections had been sent to the council.
“But we certainly expected that the work would have started earlier.
“It's such a shame, because it's a great house that's empty.
“The locals now call it Little House on the Prairie.”
Lisa Charters' parents, David and Carol Martin, from Hawick in Roxburghshire, won £33 million on the National Lottery in 2016 and gave her a share, which she used to do trip the world with her husband.
The Charters – who announced their commitment on a beach in the Bahamas – bought the three-bedroom bungalow in Edinburgh in July 2021 by paying £200,000 over the asking price of £670,000.
Their original plans were redrawn following a planning shake-up in 2022, during which they agreed to reduce the building's height by 1.5 meters and move it slightly further from neighbours' property.
We previously told how Edinburgh City Council planning officers used public transport arguments as part of their case to recommend the new plan for approval.
The document states: “Lothian Bus service 15 is approximately an eight-minute walk to Pentland Terrace, which provides access to the city Centre.
“The local center on Comiston Road is a 16 minute walk or 13 minute bus ride via Lothian Service No.11.
“The continued residential use on site will help support these local amenities.”
Residents were furious after being granted planning permission for the luxury scheme based on access to local buses.
They told the Scottish Sun: “They have justified it on public transport and things that are just not right.
'These guys don't take the bus. We're all quite shocked by it.'
They added: “We are just disappointed with the height and that it has gone through. There are quite a few people who are not happy with it.
“Some people have issues with the appearance, protrusion is unusual. Its height will have an impact on our gardens in the summer.
“We are disappointed that, given the scale of the objections, they are the kind of 'this is great' comments.”
Another commented: “It's been a long, drawn out hoo-ha for something that was going to be inevitable anyway.
A third said: 'No one is very happy. But we have to think about the buses.'
The Sun approached Mr and Mrs Charters for comment.