Demolition work has begun on a hotel completely destroyed in a fire earlier this year.
Diggers have moved onto the site of the Braemar Lodge Hotel, which went up in flames in March.
Fire investigators revealed at the time they believed a faulty fridge may have sparked the blaze, which left the former Victorian hunting lodge a mere shell.
Much loved by the local community, residents were described as being left “heartbroken and distraught” by the incident.
‘Maximum’ of two weeks to complete
Contactors today estimated it will take a “maximum” of two weeks for the hotel to be fully knocked down, with small parts of the building still being visible after the fire.
The cabins within the site are open to potential visitors.
Local business owner, Gareth Guy, who owns the Horn Shop and McLean of Braemar, said it was “good” that the site is in the process of being cleared.
He said: “It is a bit of an eyesore that you see coming into the village, so the fact that it’s starting to be cleaned up is something at least, but what happens afterwards I have no idea, we’ll just have to wait and see.
“It was a very nice hotel and it was a very popular hotel, so if it doesn’t get rebuilt then it will be sort of a shame, it was a lovely building as well.”
With the next phase now taking place, people in Braemar are hopeful that this work is the start of replacing the much loved hotel.
Local resident, Wilma McLellan said that the hotel was the “part of the village”, saying “we miss it”, but acknowledged that a replacement “will never be the same”.
‘I just hope we build something in the same design’
David Geddes, who also lives near the former hotel, has high hopes for a potential replacement.
He said: “I just hope we build something in the same design, or a similar design, something in keeping.
“I would just like to see it being a hotel there again, we’re desperately short of accommodation in Braemar now, we’ve lost a lot of guesthouses.”
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