The only pub in a north-east village is expected to close its doors in a matter of weeks.
A change of use application has been lodged with Aberdeenshire Council for permission to turn the B-listed Learney Arms in Torphins into a family home.
The hotel, pub and restaurant has been on the market for two and a half years, however its owners Murray and Sandra Johnston have been unable to sell it as a business.
It is expected to stop trading on August 20.
Locals have banded together to try to save the building – describing it as the “heart of the community” – and have submitted more than 100 objections to the proposals.
Will Maclean of Torphins community council yesterday lodged an objection to the plans on behalf of the group.
He said the change of use application contravened both the 2012 local development plan and the forthcoming 2016 version.
He added: “The loss of the hotel would reduce the public amenity of the village by removing this community hub, which supports the local community as a meeting place for clubs and associations, and as a venue for formal and casual socialising.
“The hotel is a central feature of the village, which would definitely change in character if converted to a dwelling house.”
The Learney will come into the ownership of Aberdeen man Alex Shepherd at the end of this month after he bought it through selling agents Christie and Co.
He said: “I am acquiring the building towards the end of August. I will not be acquiring a trading hotel but one that has already been closed down.
“The business as a going concern had been for sale for a period in excess of two and a half years through probably the most established selling agent for such businesses in the UK.
“It’s obviously disappointing when such businesses are closed down, however it’s a sad fact that licensed premises nationally have been and continue closing at an alarming rate.”
He added that he hoped to convert the building in “a sympathetic way”, adding: “I want to live in it. It is certainly not my intention, as has been suggested, to seek permissions to convert the property into flats.”