A former supermarket in a north-east town could soon become a place of worship.
Old Deer architects, Baxter Design, has submitted proposals to convert Fraserburgh’s disused Co-op supermarket on Albert Street into a new church for the port’s Assembly of God.
If the plan is approved, the store, which was earmarked for demolition as early as last year, would increase in size to become a base for the Christian community.
As well as creating a new space for worship, the development would also create offices for the church’s media team and house a cafe.
Separate senior and youth areas would also be provided and the outside, next door to a car mechanics, would be landscaped.
Nobody from the Assembly of God was available to comment.
The massive, 25,000sq ft outlet, which it plans to move into, has been abandoned since the Co-operative Group decided to drop the shop in favour of a smaller unit in the town.
Sales at the shop were thought to have been hit following the launch of a Tesco store at the edge of Fraserburgh.
Bridge of Don-based Tinto Architecture submitted plans to convert the old shop into 30 housing units which would have provided six affordable properties in the town centre.
But those proposals were withdrawn last year before going to local councillors for a decision. That scheme would have involved the demolition of the unit which locals believe has become a perch for seagulls.
Only one letter of representation against the housing scheme had been lodged.
Local man, Martin Stuart, raised concerns that the proposals by Tinto did not include sufficient information about access and drainage.
He stated: “You are effectively asking us to sign a blank permit.”
Plans for a new store also drew criticism from some residents in nearby College Bounds and Charlotte Lane who feared that noise from refrigeration units and delivery vans could keep them awake.