Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Abandoned shop in Moray town centre could become site for tourist homes

The former bakery could soon find a new use as tourist accommodation.
The former bakery could soon find a new use as tourist accommodation.

A historic shop in a Moray town centre could soon find a new lease of life as tourist accommodation.

A bakery stood at the top of Elgin’s Moss Street for more than 70 years until the former Smith’s and Ralph’s premises shut nearly a decade ago.

Now proposals have been submitted by Jean Stalker to revitalise it as a home to eight serviced apartments for tourists and temporary workers visiting the area.

Designers stress that all of the buildings to the rear of the shop front have now crumbled beyond the point of being able to be repaired.

However, it has been proposed to retain the former entrance to the bakery and repair and renovate the retail outlet as a laundry room for residents.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Documents submitted to Moray Council’s planning department by agents Ashley Bartlam Architects explain the proposed flats would have an open-plan bedroom, living and kitchen area with en-suite shower room.

They state: “The serviced apartments will be marketed to tourists visiting the area as well as people working here for a few weeks who appreciate good quality services accommodation in the heart of the town with accessibility to restaurants, pubs, shopping and leisure facilities.

“It will help bring more people and, with them, vibrancy to the town centre especially in the evenings as they go out to eat and explore the town.”

Industry leaders have highlighted that the shortage of tourist accommodation in Elgin could be holding back attempts to increase footfall to the town.

A four-star hotel has been proposed as part of a potential £200 million growth deal for Moray while planning permission has already been granted to Travelodge to build a 61-bedroom site on the eastern outskirts of the town.

Last night, Laurie Piper, operations manager at Moray Speyside Tourism, explained it was important to provide a range of accommodation options for visitors.

He said: “We need to do more to increase the capacity in the area to welcome visitors to Elgin and the rest of the area.

“It’s exciting to know that developers are considering rejuvenating some buildings that have been out of use for a number of years as part of this.”