Work has started on a multi-million pound sports facility in Macduff.
Construction of the new sports pavilion is underway, with teams beginning the process of boarding off the site at Myrus Circle.
The existing facilities in the town – Myrus Pavilion – will be demolished next summer.
Last night, chairman of the council’s Banff and Buchan area committee, John Cox welcomed the news work has started.
“It is great to see work starting on the project and these facilities will be a welcome boost for the area,” he said.
The facilities are part of a £12.7million investment across both Macduff and Banff to provide new pitches and running tracks.
In Macduff, the pitches will be retained in the short-term until an all-weather surface is placed next year.
And in Banff, a new community centre will be built along with new football pitches and a running and cycling track.
Upgrades will also be carried out to the town’s secondary school.
The proposals for new sports facilities in the two towns had been in the pipeline for years and finally broke through in March when Tesco agreed to part-fund the project.
The scheme had been thrown into disarray weeks earlier when the supermarket giant – which had pledged to develop land to replace existing facilities at Canal Park as part of a bid to build a new store – pulled out of the deal.
Macduff councillor Mark Findlater said: “It’s been a long time coming and I’m really pleased for the people of Macduff that work has finally started on it.
“It’ll be completed by September next year, and there’s a plan in place so there’s minimum disruption for the groups using it. It’s a great thing for the area and I’m really looking forward to it being completed.”
Earlier this year, a resident had tried to uncover details of Tesco’s land deal with the council but was knocked back by the local authority.
On appeal, the Scottish Information Commissioner upheld the council decision not to release details of the agreement.