The firm behind an ill-fated proposal to build a huge retail park on the edge of Forres has lodged fresh plans that could rejuvenate its town centre.
Redco Milne’s move to create a £20million development on an area of common good land to the east of the town attracted hundreds of complaints from angry residents.
Locals warned that basing a massive shopping complex on the outskirts of the town would cripple High Street trade.
After years of controversy, the Bogton Road project was finally rejected by Moray Council’s planning committee last October.
But now, Redco Milne has tabled a proposal which many Forres residents have welcomed as a potential boost to the town.
Many of the same people who campaigned against the Bogton Road venture have warmly received a scheme to create 80 flats on Caroline Street, at the site of the former Tesco store.
Chairman of Forres Community Council, Stewart Noble, said new housing in the town centre was much-needed.
Mr Noble added: “We feel that this is a good use of that piece of land, and the idea is certainly being welcomed.
“More affordable housing is badly needed in Forres, and having new flats in the centre should bring benefits to businesses on the High Street.
“This will bring folk into the town, whereas the previous application would have pushed them from the centre.
“This should be good for business, good for the town and good for folk who need houses.”
Redco Milne has submitted a proposal of application notice to Moray Council regarding the three-and-a-half acre development.
If approved, the site will be boundaried by the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road and housing on the north, and Gordon Street and Mosset Burn to the west.
A public consultation meeting regarding the move will be held in the coming months.
The firm has confirmed that all 80 of the flats in the complex will be designated as affordable housing.
The company’s previous plan would have seen a shopping centre and hotel created on land stretching from Bogton Road into the town, and would have necessitated the relocation of Forres Mechanics FC from Mosset Park to a new, purpose-built ground.
The project was axed by Moray Council when planning members learned Redco Milne expected the authority to cover any losses the retail complex incurred.
