The owner of a popular Lossiemouth furniture store does not believe the spot will remain empty for long after it relocates.
An independent retail assessment carried out on behalf of the council suggests the departure of Grampian Furnishers from Queen Street will result in lost takings totalling £2.2million for the coastal town each year.
The showroom has occupied a spot in the heart of the town for decades, but the business has now been granted permission to move to a new showroom on the outskirts of Elgin.
Elgin City South councillor, John Divers, believes the scheme will hinder efforts to attract business his ward.
But he also expressed sympathy for Lossiemouth firms which presently benefit from people flocking to the coastal town to peruse the thriving furniture store.
Mr Divers said: “In Elgin, we will keep working to benefit the town centre despite this, but I wonder what is going to happen in Lossiemouth?
“It feels like the affected businesses there are being left to wither on the vine.”
The owner of Grampian Furnishers, Royce Clark, said he could not bear the prospect of leaving his current workplace abandoned.
And the businessman offered reassurances that a new occupant for the site would soon be unveiled.
Mr Clark said: “It will be a huge thing for me to leave Lossiemouth, but we have agreed terms in principle with another local business to take over the building.
“We obviously couldn’t take that further until our fate was decided, but this will be a huge expansion for them on a similar level to what we are planning.”
Gill Neill, manager of Elgin Bid, described the projected £2.2million downfall in turnover at Lossiemouth as “staggering”.
And Mrs Neill said that traders would not rest easy until the details of the new tenant are revealed.
She added: “There is no assurance that the estimated £2.2 million loss will be reduced.”
Heldon and Laich councillor Amy Patience said she fears the impact on shops in Lossiemouth will be “vast”.
She was one of only two members of the authority’s planning committee who opposed the relocation – while six of her colleagues backed it.
Six other members agreed that the impact of the relocation would be “minimal” to local businesses.
