Villagers fighting to save a 19th century landmark from demolition will have their say on its future during a public meeting.
Moray Council’s planning committee had been advised to approve plans that would see the former Tennant Arms pub and hotel in Lhanbryde levelled to make way for a new grocery store.
But, during yesterday’s meeting, Fochabers Lhanbryde representative Margo Howe made an impassioned plea for her fellow members to gauge local opinion before progressing with the proposal to redevelop the site.
She read from a book about the region’s most attractive buildings, which was published in 1987 by architecture professor Charles McKean.
Mrs Howe said: “This book describes the Tennant Arms as the most dominant building in Lhanbryde, and its potential loss is a big issue for people in the village.
“The book has a picture showing how pretty the building is, and we have to ask if the new shop would be as visually acceptable as the Tennant Arms.”
Mrs Howe referenced a petition launched by Lhanbryde resident Gill Stewart against the scheme, which secured more than 500 signatures.
And she highlighted locals’ fears that creating a new shop opposite the village’s existing grocery store would cause traffic problems.
Her suggestion that there should be a public meeting in the village before councillors voted on the application was unanimously backed.
The council’s principal planning officer, Angus Burnie, said that, though 111 residents objected to the plans, none of the bodies the authority had consulted reflected those concerns.
He also moved to quash concerns over the impact the new shop would have on traffic flow along St Andrew’s Road, claiming that transport officers had investigated the matter and decided there was little risk.
The Scots-Elizabethan style Tennant Arms building was established in 1854, and was a popular spot for weddings and parties for decades.
However, the pub closed in 2014 and its interior has reportedly fallen into dilapidation since then.
Owner Tahir Pervaiz bought the venue with an eye to regenerating it shortly after.
He originally hoped to retain the current structure, with a shop downstairs and flats above.
But he was forced to tender a revised scheme which involves bulldozing the Tennant Arms when council officers told him extra parking space would be required to serve the shop.
The public meeting is expected to be held within six weeks.
