PLANS have been unveiled for the transformation of a historic country house near Dumbarton.

Applicant Lords Capital Scotland Ltd is seeking planning permission from West Dunbartonshire Council to turn the 17-bedroom Dalmoak House in Renton into a venue for events, functions and holiday lets.

Previous applications for the A-listed building were thrown out in 2015 and 2016 – and the property, which was built in the 1860s, was then put up for sale in 2017, with an asking price of £1.7million.

But by the following year that had fallen to £895,000.

A supporting statement lodged alongside the formal application states that if permission for the change of use is granted, only single holiday bookings for the entire house will be taken.

It adds: “Lords Capital Ltd is the prospective purchaser of the building, who intends to acquire the freehold subject to receiving a satisfactory planning approval and listed building consent.

“Lords Capital Ltd has a keen interest in heritage conservation, with the objective of preserving and enhancing historic buildings by introducing optimised viable uses that can sustain the cost of physical upkeep.

“It is therefore proposed to introduce a use that is appropriate and sympathetic to the building which will enable its ongoing conservation and provide it with a sustainable future, whilst also making an important contribution towards the local economy and community.”

The statement also says the new use “is intended to attract small events, such as art displays, holistic sessions or teaching classes, where by the attendees are the guests that booked a holiday as a group where any externally audible noise and disturbance is limited”.

According to the Companies House website, the only officer of Lords Capital Ltd is the company’s director, 39-year-old Romanian national Lord Ovidiu Constantin De Hertburn.

Dalmoak House was built in the late 1860s on estate land once frequented by Robert the Bruce and the castle itself is believed to host the largest stained glass window in a private house in the UK.

More recently, it was known as the site of the Castle Glen care home, which was heavily criticised by inspectors and had funding cut by West Dunbartonshire Council in 2009 following concerns over standards of care at the facility.

It had shut its doors as a care home by the end of 2013 after the Care Inspectorate labelled the standard of care as “weak”.