A campaign against a major road-building scheme in Elgin has stepped up a gear.
Opponents have arranged a date and a venue for a meeting over the proposed £8.5million western link road.
A planning application was lodged earlier this month for the route, which would connect the Edgar Road Retail Park to the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen road.
As the application document runs to nearly 400 pages and the deadline for representations is looming, protesters say they have called the meeting to co-ordinate their response.
Jim Wiseman is a member of the Designing Streets Action Group, which was set up in 2011 to fight the proposals.
He said: “By calling this meeting we’re not trying to put words into people’s mouths.
“Instead, we’re trying to explain what this road will mean in laymen’s terms.
“I believe this road, which runs along residential streets, is going to be used as a ‘rat run’ by drivers trying to avoid congestion.
“Why should Elgin people be breathing in the fumes from the A96 just so big business can turn a profit?”
Mr Wiseman argued that businesses on Edgar Road already had “reasonable” access links.
He said: “In addition, the council says it needs £70million to update and modernise the school buildings in the region.
“Well, it could save itself £8.5million just by choosing not to build this road, which hardly anybody outside the council chambers seems to want.
“That would go some way to saving a number of schools that parents, pupils and teachers are currently fighting to keep open.”
A Moray Council spokesman said: “From the very outset, we have encouraged comment and feedback on the proposals and some of that feedback has been incorporated into the final design.
“We believe that the design, as it now stands, embraces the philosophy of Designing Streets while creating a link road that will be a key part of Elgin’s roads infrastructure.”
The meeting of protesters will be held at the Mansfield Hotel on April 28, from 7pm to 9pm.
The planning application can be found on the Moray Council website.
The deadline for making comments both for and against the road is May 8.