THE Largs cousins behind Cumbrae’s first eco-cabins are celebrating after the venture was approved by councillors.

The controversial development, which involves five cabins to the north of the Cathedral of the Isles, has split opinion among residents during the planning application phase.

However, the application was unanimously approved by North Ayrshire Council’s planning committee on Wednesday after officers had recommended it for approval.

Daniel Jack, who is creating the Jack’s Alt-stays development with cousin Adam, says the green light from councillors means they can now push on with launching on Cumbrae.

He said: “Adam and I are excited that our planning application has been approved with conditions.

“This is a huge step forward for us.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to the community and businesses that have supported us to this point.

“We’re excited to be adding another high quality asset to the island's ever-improving tourism offering. We look forward to working with fellow businesses on the island.”

The duo believe that their cabins are the next generation of tourist accommodation in Scotland and say that the builds are progressing well.

Daniel explained: “The construction of our first eco-cabin, which is taking place in North Ayrshire, is nearing completion - and it’s looking fantastic.

“It has been incredibly exciting watching our early notebook sketches progress through to architects drawings and now finally be brought to life.

“We’re working closely with local architects, Stewart Associates, and local builders, System 5, to make this happen.

“Now that planning permission is secured, we’ll be progressing with the site preparations, kicking off our second cabin’s build, and working towards launching our business in early 2022.”

Despite the final approval of the plans being unanimous, questions were raised by councillors during the planning meeting.

Concerns were raised around views of the site from the cathedral, tree planting, hot tub locations and access from College Street.

Cllr Tom Marshall, who chairs the committee, voted to approve the application, but believes that further regulation of tourist accommodation on Cumbrae will be needed in future.

He said: “Part of the reason the application appeared before the planning committee was because there was a substantial number of objections from residents.

“Personally, I was torn on the decision, simply because there is such a divergence of opinion among the island population.

“Moving forward, I would be concerned to see the unbalanced growth of tourism on Cumbrae.

“Over the September weekend we had queues for hours to get here and we can't run the risk of turning the island into a tourist destination at the detriment of the local population.”

The motion to approve the application was put forward by Cllr Robert Foster and seconded by Cllr Robert Barr.