An iconic landmark, which has stood at the heart of a Moray community for more than 150 years, will be torn down and replaced with a grocery store.
Residents in Lhanbryde have described the Tennant Arms as the village’s most recognisable emblem, ever since it was built in 1854, and 500 campaigners signed a petition to spare the former hotel and pub from the wrecking ball.
But yesterday, Moray Council voted overwhelmingly to reduce it to rubble – and endorsed a property developer’s ambition to create a Co-op store with a car park on the site.
The authority’s planning committee convened a special meeting in Elgin, where opponents of the new scheme argued in favour of maintaining the Tennant Arms.
Developer Tahir Pervaiz attended with representatives from local architectural firm, Plans Plus, who outlined the benefits which the new convenience store could bring to Lhanbryde.
Following almost three hours of impassioned debate, members decided not to put the proposal to a vote.
Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor, Douglas Ross, urged his colleagues to save the building, but his plea fell on deaf ears and received no backers.
When councillors agreed to rubber-stamp Mr Pervaiz’s plans, howls of dismay erupted from the dozen campaigners who had gathered to fight for the Tennant Arms.
Following the meeting, protestor Anita Milne fought back tears while she blasted the council’s decision.
She said: “I suppose this is democracy in action, but sometimes democracy does not see common sense.
“Moray Council says it wishes to listen to the community, but our views have been ignored.”
And another campaigner George Herraghty added: “This is the finest building in Lhanbryde, it should be preserved.
“It’s absurd that this wasn’t even put to a vote.”
Amid such expressions of frustration, Cllr Ross cast doubt on the competency of the council’s decision.
He said: “Other members of the committee had concerns about the impact this shop will have on traffic through Lhanbryde.
“But they didn’t object to the application, nor did they look favourably on the representations we had from the local community.”
His fellow ward member, Sean Morton, described himself as “astonished” at the outcome.
But as Councillor Morton is not on the planning committee, he was unable to vote against the application.
He said: “I hoped for a vote that would ensure that The Tennant Arms would live on, and have a viable future.
“The village will be shocked by this, we are losing a beloved building and will face worse traffic conditions.”
Campaigners had argued the venue could be salvaged and repurposed as a hotel or flats.
But planning committee chairman, Chris Tuke, argued planning members had to shelve sentiment when deciding the building’s fate.
He added: “We are duty-bound to determine this within planning guidelines, and I can see no material reasons to refuse this.”
Moray Council convener, Allan Wright, added the condition that the new building be designed to look similar to the Tennant Arms.
Work is expected to begin on demolishing the 19th century structure next spring.
Colin Keir, a partner in Plans Plus, said: “If we could have saved the building, then we would have, but parking procedures dictated that we needed that space.
“This is obviously emotional, but nothing stays the same forever.”
Chris Beebe, planning manager for the Co-op in Scotland, said he was “delighted” at the opportunity to bring a store to Lhanbryde.