A salt barn built to improve the winter care of Moray’s roads has been greeted with dismay by local residents.
Moray Council’s winter roster commenced this week and a roads team is now officially on standby to treat any designated routes hit by frost.
The local authority has highlighted the importance of the new £415,000 store at Elgin’s Ashgrove Road depot in helping to keep roads safe across the region.
Bristol-based company Dome UK is putting the finishing touches to the building, which is capable of holding 6,000 tonnes of road salt.
Ashgrove Road residents have raised concerns over the visual impact of the dome, a loss of light and its proximity to houses.
John Kelly, of The Beeches, Ashgrove Road, objected to the original plans.
The semi-retired engineer said: “It’s Moray Council at its best. They can shut primary schools down, and then they go and build something like that.
“For the amount of money they spent, I can’t understand why they didn’t just put pillars on the existing structure.
“I want them to put a red cherry on top and paint it green around the base to make it look like a cupcake and a proper feature.
“If it saves them money then fair and well, but that remains to be seen.”
Susan Watson, of 3 Ashgrove Cottages, said: “I knew nothing about it, and it went up and up and up.
“I thought we would have had to get neighbour notifications, but we got nothing. It’s the principle of it as much as the structure itself that gets me.”
Another resident described the building as “ginormous”.
He said: “It’s an awful colour, and the moment I get out into my patio, there it is. It’s huge.”
Council bosses originally estimated the cost of the project at £300,000. However, the actual cost was £415,000.
Despite the 38% overspend, Moray Council has insisted the advantages of the barn and an annual saving of £35,000 justify the cost to keep Moray roads ice-free in the future.
A local authority spokesman said: “The salt barn has cost £415,000 and is capable of storing up to 6000 tonnes of road salt. Until now, salt supplies have been largely uncovered.
“The barn has several advantages in that it will keep salt dry, meaning it is less likely to clog the spreading mechanism on the gritting lorries.
“There is no leaching during rainfall and it enables the council to order salt during summer – when it is cheaper – and store it until it is needed in winter. The overall annual savings will be around £35,000.”