Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mother raises safety fears over restaurant plans for old bank branch in Turriff

The former RBS Bank in High Street, Turriff
The former RBS Bank in High Street, Turriff

The mother of a one-year-old boy is worried they may lose their only fire exit if plans for a new north-east restaurant are approved.

Proposals to transform a former Royal Bank of Scotland branch into a food outlet on the High Street in Turriff were unveiled last month.

RBS pulled the plug on the outlet last summer after a fall in customers visiting the branch.

In a bid to give the building a new lease of life, Sava Estates submitted their proposals to create a “quality restaurant” with a small takeaway.

Documents prepared by Glasgow-based Bennett Developments and Consulting showed the bank’s empty vaults could be used for storage and waste collection.

But Rachel Gilbert, who lives above the former bank, is worried about the potential impact the development could have on her young family.

She fears she would lose her only fire exit and is worried about any noise coming from the restaurant.

In a letter objecting to the restaurant proposal, Miss Gilbert said: “I have one stairway out of my property and, if there was a fire in the kitchen of the proposed restaurant, I worry that, with a one-year old child, my only escape from the property would be gone.

“I imagine the noise levels will be a lot greater than the bank was and with a one-year-old who goes to bed at 7.30pm, this is not ideal.

“With the loud noise usually associated with a restaurant of this size until midnight, this will cause me and my family to lose sleep.”

Miss Gilbert is worried about the smell coming from the restaurant, a loss of privacy in her garden, drainage issues, vermin being attracted to the building, a lack of parking and the possibility of the smell from the restaurant wafting into her own home.

She also believes she should have been consulted about the plans by Sava Estates and said it was “very odd” they had not contacted her.

Miss Gilbert is not the only objector, with three other people writing to the council to question the need for a new restaurant in Turriff.

A supporting statement submitted alongside the restaurant said it would offer a “new dining experience” to Turriff.

It said: “The restaurant will bring activity into the area and in the evenings and the winter… and contribute to the wellbeing so essential if the town centre is to be enjoyed.”