The co-owner of the Old Mill Inn hotel has described the fire that tore through the premises as “another sad chapter” for the site.
Twenty firefighters were called out to South Deeside Road in Maryculter this afternoon after a blaze broke out at the historic former pub and hotel.
Four appliances and a height vehicle were used to extinguish the fire, with crews spending about three hours on-scene.
After being called out just after 3.20pm, the stop message was declared at 6.06pm.
Mike French, co-partner of the hotel, described the fire as “sad” but looked forward to an exciting future for the site.
He said: “It’s another sad chapter for the Old Mill Inn site.
“We’ve been there since 1989, and developed it into a wedding venue and thought we did really well with it.
“Unfortunately, circumstances outwith our control with the flooding and now the fire has meant it has ended like this.
“We want to look forward to the future which is quite exciting with the plans for the site.
“Hopefully, our planning application will be pushed through and we can go forward as the site is in a really exciting location.”
Mr French and his business partner Victor Sang lodged plans with Aberdeenshire Council to demolish the former hotel and build a garden centre and restaurant in November 2019.
History
The Old Mill Inn is a historic premises situated in a picturesque location on South Deeside Road.
Operating as a hotel for 200 years, it hosted numerous weddings, functions and was popular with the locals.
A nightclub called Champers was also located there.
Unfortunately, the location has suffered a spate of bad luck in recent times, including a flood that caused it to shut down for good in 2016.
The premises closed as a hotel in October 2014, as its owners tried to sell it so it could be used as accommodation for AWPR contractors’ staff.
However, these plans were withdrawn following an outcry by neighbours who claimed the 264 accommodation units and accompanying car park was too large and would overwhelm the local roads.
The pub was reopened in August 2015 but bad luck was just around the corner.
Four months later Storm Frank devastated the region, causing the River Dee to burst its banks, flooding the pub twice.
The hotel and surrounding land was then put on the market but it was not sold.
Plans to demolish the premises and build a garden centre and restaurant were lodged with Aberdeenshire Council in 2019.
They also hope to build six homes on the site and, having learned from bitter past experience, the new buildings will be elevated on stilts to protect them from rising waters in the future.
Reaction
North Kincardine councillor Ian Mollison has had many fond memories of meals out at the former hotel.
He said: “It’s very sad to see what has happened to the hotel as I know lots of people have very happy memories of the place.
“It put on functions, weddings and meals and it is a great shame to see what has happened to it and I wonder what happens next with it.
“There used to be a nightclub called Champers which was an extension to the hotel and people from Aberdeen used to be bussed out there for nights out.
“It was a very famous local entertainment venue, I remember going to a wedding there.
“I liked to go out for meals there, it was always friendly with a nice atmosphere and had a lot of character.
“It’s so sad that it has fallen on hard times.
“It was flooded, then closed and it was badly vandalised over the last couple of years
“There is a really difficult decision for the owners, as the hotel trade is difficult in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen.”
Fellow ward councillor Colin Pike has been a patron of the hotel for about 40 years, and even met his wife there.
He said: “This is a sad day for Maryculter.
“I went down there when I heard about the fire and saw that the whole premises was alight, and the roof collapsed.
“The fire service reacted as quickly as they could to deal with it.
“The Old Mill Inn is highly regarded in the area and did a lot of weddings and was a community-focused business.
“The hosts always made you feel welcome and looked after everybody when they visited.
“The nightclub there was the first in the region to have a glass-coloured dancefloor, and a boogie bus was put on from Union Street to Champers on a Saturday night.
“It’s quite an institution and will be missed.”