Elgin High Street Scotbet building transformation will ‘erode’ appearance of town as objectors urge Moray Council to refuse proposal
An objection submitted to Moray Council regarding plans to transform an Elgin High Street building claims the proposal will “completely erode the character and appearance” of the area.
Scotbet, which describes itself as Scotland’s largest independent bookmaker, wants to move into the former William Hill building at 144-148 High Street.
The building has remained empty since 2019 but in May last year Scotbet lodged a betting premises licence sparking hope that it could be brought back into use.
A building warrant for £90,000 of work, including alterations to the internal layout and an upgrade to the front facade, was submitted in January.
But a formal objection to the plans has now been submitted to Moray Council on behalf of “clients who occupy premises in Elgin town centre”.
The letter argues that the proposal violates current policy in that it does not conform with the character and appearance of the area.
The letter reads: “Proposals should contribute towards a sense of place and draw upon positive characteristics of the surrounding area, supporting local architectural styles.
“This is of particular importance in main thoroughfares such as the High Street, where large numbers of people congregate.
“The proposed alterations completely fail to meet these objectives.
“The contemporary design of the shopfront and the failure to use complementary traditional materials does not in any way complement the characteristics of the surrounding buildings.
“The application frontage has a settled townscape character which should be respected and replicated through the use of traditional designs with appropriate materials.
“We therefore believe as outlined above, the proposal is clearly contrary to a number of the adopted planning policies and therefore trust that permission will be refused in due course.”
The application has not received any other objections and is yet to be approved.
