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Planning ahead: Plans to turn former Rothes pub into community hub and proposed £50 million state-of-the-art maltings

By Sean McAngus

December 12 2021, 5:00 pm

Plans to turn former Rothes pub into community hub and proposed £50 million state-of-the-art maltings included in Moray Council's latest planning applications.

Here we look at some of the standout planning applications submitted to Moray Council in the last two weeks.

There is a Rothes bar being turned in community hub, malting plant and the transformation of hairdressers into a flat.

Malting plant

Firstly, Simpsons Malts has submitted its planning application to build its £50million maltings on the outskirts of Rothes.

The company wants to build its proposed state-of-the-art plant at Greens of Rothes on the B9015 road to Mosstodloch.

The aim is for the maltings to be carbon neutral, and if successful it could create 40 jobs including apprenticeships and produce 100,000 tonnes of malt per annum.

Issues raised by public

Concerns about the plant had previously been raised with the company including odour, visual impact and potential threats to the environment.

However, Steven Rowley, Simpson Malts operations director, said the company had made “some alterations to the plans” following the comments.

The fifth-generation family business announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the 40 acres of farmland at Greens of Rothes in September 2020, subject to planning.

Plans altered following consultation

Mr Rowley said: “At the in-person event in September, we said to attendees that we intended on having the planning application submitted to Moray Council before the end of October.

“However, after considering comments received at the event, we have spent additional time making some alterations to the plans, while also having further ecological assessments conducted at the site.”

The proposal includes a processing plant, silos and sheds on a 40 acre site to the north of the town.

It is expected to be operational within two years if planning permission is approved, producing an estimated 100,000 tonnes of malt a year.

Plans to transform Rothes bar into community hub

A renewable energy company has applied for planning permission to alter the interior of a former pub in Rothes.

The Victoria Bar on 1-3 Seafield Square last opened to customers on Christmas Eve.

Agent Amos Beech is representing Fred Olsen Renewables.

Plans proposed to spilt the Victoria Bar on the ground floor from the flat on the first floor.

Papers read: “Access to the flat from inside the property will be blocked off, leaving the existing entrance on the street being the only access to the flat.

“The flat is to be sold separately. The plan is to develop the ground floor into a mixed use, community hub.”