Welcome to Planning Ahead – our weekly round-up of the latest proposals across the north-east.
This week’s instalment brings good news for Aboyne residents eager to see the dilapidated Huntly Arms Hotel revamp plans progress.
A series of schemes aimed at breathing new life into the derelict hotel have now been approved.
Elsewhere, a decades-old dental practice could be turned into an Inverurie home and plans have been lodged to protect an Aberdeen church from lightning strikes.
But we start with plans to retain a city beer garden.
Motif marquee to stay for years
Just before Christmas, we revealed how the owners of the popular Motif beer garden (formerly the Draft Project) had sought permission to keep the marquee for another four years.
Hospitality kingpins PB Devco hope to ultimately bring the old Bruce Millers music shop to the front “back into busy use”.
Exactly how remains unknown, but reviving the long-empty Union Street site would help inject new life into the top end of the Granite Mile.
Now the council has sealed plans for the marquee to stay, while work is taking place at the shop.
The only condition is that noise from the sheltered city centre nightspot is kept to a minimum.
Electrifying plans as church revamp surges forward
Now we move to another sort of protection from the elements…
Anyone who has been past Aberdeen’s North Church of St Andrew in recent months will have noticed work taking place on the historic building.
The site has been a place of worship since the 1700s, and the current church dates back 120 years.
In 2017, the Queen Street Church amalgamated with St Mark’s Church on Rosemount Viaduct, leaving the building empty.
It was later bought by Trinity Church – with parishioners planning a move from their base nearby on King Street.
And now, owners the Cruden Trust want to make sure their new home is storm-proof.
The charity is seeking the council’s permission to install a “lightning protection system” on the listed place of worship.
Blueprints show how conductors would be attached to the Queen Street structure.
Last year the Cruden Trust was given permission to light up the outside of the building.
Since the move from Queen Street, former parishioners have been displaced again with the closure of St Mark’s.
Celebrations renovations could bring gym to Turriff town centre
The Celebrations ladieswear shop in Turriff closed a few years ago, while the popular home store and restaurant remains open a few doors along Main Street.
The empty building has been offered for sale for £85,000.
Have a look around in this video:
Aberdeen-based SJA Property Group now wants to convert the rear of the premises into a new town centre gym.
Blueprints show how there would be room for exercise bikes, treadmills and weights.
Meanwhile, the same developers have plans in to turn the front section and first floor of the former shop into co-working office space.
Fraserburgh church to take over flat
The Fraserburh Community Church, at 29 Grattan Place, wants to expand by taking over a flat occupying its upper storeys.
The new plans would see the first floor converted into a meeting room and social room (with the kitchen being left as it is).
Bedrooms upstairs would become consulting rooms and an archive store.
Former Inverurie dental practice could become flat
And over in Inverurie, a vacant town centre dental practice could be turned into a flat.
The 6 West High Street address had been the base of Mint Dental Care for generations.
There’s a hallway, reception area, treatment room, sterilisation room, staff room, office and storage space across the upper-level spot, along with a mixed use toilet.
The two-bedroom flat would have and open plan kitchen, dining room and living area.
It comes after the practice moved into a new space 10 miles away at Kingseat Business Park at the start of the year.
What happened to town’s old dentist?
Mint Dental Care issued a poignant message at the close of the practice – which had been part of the town for more than 100 years.
A statement on Facebook said: “Times have changed.
“The introduction of modern digital dentistry equipment requires more space.
“Dentistry is changing and we are trying to bring the latest treatments and technology for the benefit of all our patients.”
Here’s the current layout:
And here is how it could be transformed under the flat plans:
Mobile boost in Braemar under billion-pound scheme
Meanwhile over in Braemar, trying to get mobile phone signal can, at times, feel like pulling teeth.
And while this can be irksome for visitors, it can be a matter of life and death in extreme situations…
Now, plans to boost the signal have been lodged as part of something called the Shared Rural Network project.
Under the scheme, the UK Government is working with mobile operators EE, O2, Three and Vodafone to turbo-charge connectivity.
It will make 4G available to 95% of the UK, extending coverage to an additional 280,000 premises.
This will cost £1 billion, with the cost roughly shared.
New antennas will be added to the Morrone Hill radio facilities south of the Royal Deeside village.
The mast and buildings there date back to 1969, when it was an Aberdeen University research station.
Support floods in for Aberdeen swimming pool proposal
This time last year, protests were mounted after a £700,000 cut resulted in the closure of the Beach Leisure Centre and Bucksburn Swimming Pool – though the latter was reversed after a successful campaign.
Now, the Bucksburn building is poised to reopen within about a year. And a new swimming pool is on the cards nearby in Bridge of Don.
The £260,000 plans were lodged last month for a former garage on Scotstown Road.
And already, several supporters are calling on the council to rubber-stamp them.
New Bridge of Don pool hailed a ‘brilliant investment’
Bryony Dempster said: “Looking forward to using this facility to help keep my children safe and active.”
Sakthi Norton added: “The development will bring benefit to the local and wider community.”
Oldmeldrum’s Lesley Cook said the classes run by Aberdeen Swimming Academy in Aberdeenshire are often “the only reliable service for our children to learn vital skills” as council sessions are “frequently cancelled”.
Stuart McPhee, who runs the Siberia bar on Belmont Street, has also lent his backing.
He said: “Their application should be seen as a brilliant investment in the area and should be welcomed.”
Crumbling former stable to be demolished at Mearns hotel
The owners of the Ramsay Arms hotel at Fettercairn, near Laurencekirk, want to demolish condemned outbuildings to the rear of the venue.
It comes after a structural engineer visited and recommended the structures to the rear of the B-listed Mearns hotel be torn down.
The former stable was found to have “unstable” stonework, decaying timber and at risk of collapsing at any moment.
Huntly Arms Hotel revamp progress
Finally, we have some major progress on plans to revive Aboyne’s downtrodden Huntly Arms Hotel.
The once-bustling building has lain vacant since 2019, with locals growing increasingly concerned for its future.
By the end of 2022, the Huntly Arms Regeneration Project volunteers had reached the end of their tether – telling us that they were in a race against time to rescue the venue before it collapsed or was vandalised beyond repair.
Things would get worse before they got better. Weeks later it was turned into a cannabis farm and raided by police.
What seemed like a new low for the Charleston Road landmark was perhaps a case of it always being darkest before dawn.
Owner Jutinder Singh was ordered to carry out a string of repairs by exasperated council chiefs who said it had become an eyesore.
By last summer, he confirmed plans to reopen it as a hotel and restaurant.
And since then various plans have been lodged – with a trio of transformative projects now given the go-ahead by the local authority.
New images as Huntly Arms Hotel revamp progresses
They include proposals to turn part of the building into flats for “larger parties of guests”, and a new beer garden out the front.
New images indicate how the al fresco area will look:
Do you think the hotel’s return will bring a boost to Aboyne? Let us know in our comments section below
Meanwhile, historians have accepted plans to replace weathered 100-year-old windows at the C-listed venue.
And it seems like this work is already under way.
Sealing the various ideas, council planners stated: “The refurbishment is required due to the water and damp experienced whilst vacant for several years.
“The applicant’s desire to restore this vacant property is evident by the quality of the proposed remedial works and enthusiasm using high-quality materials.”
And you can see this week’s plans for yourself here:
Huntly Arms Hotel revamp progress: Flats approved and outdoor area backed
Conversation