Decision to change Fraserburgh business park plans deferred by council

Calls to make changes to plans for a new Fraserburgh business park that was previously given planning approval have been deferred by councillors due to road safety concerns.

Proposals by Portside Quays Limited for four new buildings, including a new headquarters and centre of excellence for the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, were given the go-ahead by Aberdeenshire Council in March last year.

Today, the Banff and Buchan area committee deferred an application by agent Colaren Homes Limited to make changes to vehicle access to the site to allow time for a visit by the area’s councillors.

The planning application that was passed for the the two-acre site stipulated that a traffic light junction would be needed for the development, which is based in Fraserburgh’s South Harbour Road area.

Aberdeenshire Council said these conditions would be “in the interests of road safety”.

However, a supporting planning statement by Mackie Ramsay Taylor Architects said that a simple priority junction “will suffice in this instance”.

‘Result in a substandard junction’

Aberdeenshire Council noted this was considered by road bosses during the planning application stage, but was rejected, as it would “result in a substandard junction” and be “to the detriment of road safety”.

Another stumbling block was the estimated traffic flows for the site, with the authority being able to relax some elements of criteria if it is expected to be no more than 300 vehicles a day.

However, this site is predicted to be nearly 20 times more than this, and is anticipated to be 5,300 vehicles per day.

In the planning document, Aberdeenshire Council said that they “cannot” accept any relaxation due to it being an “individual junction” on the main arterial route between the A90 trunk road to Fraserburgh harbour.

It also states the plans do not match with other nearby retail outlets on South Harbour Road, including Aldi and Tesco.

‘Most significant development’

Portside Quays Limited says it has considered a roundabout junction, saying this option was “unviable” due to issues over cost and third-party ownership of nearby grounds.

However, Aberdeenshire Council says that “no evidence” has been provided to support this decision.

A spokesman for applicants Colrean Homes Limited said the business park is “probably the most significant development in Fraserburgh for a generation”.