A state-of-the-art sports facility in a north-east town is expected to be approved next week.
Councillors will meet on Tuesday to discuss plans for the new amenities at Fraserburgh’s South Links on Tuesday, when planning permission is expected to be granted for the £1million pound project.
Aberdeenshire Council has already guaranteed the organisation behind the scheme, the Fraserburgh South Links Sports Development Trust, £600,000 of funding to get the initiative off the ground.
The venture was first unveiled in July, when the SLSDT lodged plans with the local authority to convert existing football pitches into a modern athletics facility.
It will include a six-lane running track around a floodlit football pitch once it has been constructed.
Space has also been earmarked for field events, including the long and triple jump, as well as an all-abilities cycling track which is proposed for the periphery of the site.
The completed project is expected to cost about £1.2million.
Stephen Archer, the council’s director of infrastructure services, has now urged councillors from Banff, Troup and Fraserburgh to support the bid.
In his report, he stated: “It is the view of this service that the proposal does not cause an adverse visual impact upon the site.
“All elements have been designed and positioned as far as possible to be accommodating to the appearance of the site whilst providing the intended facilities to an acceptable standard.”
If approval is granted and the trust wins funding from sportscotland, the project will go out to tender and work could begin as soon as the end of this year.
Graeme Clark, trust convener, said: “It’s a positive step. A lot of the funding relies on this (backing from council).
“It’s a vital step and it’s the culmination of a lot of public consultation.”
