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.

Psychedelic dinosaur in Cullen faces extinction without planning permission

Dinosaur head on rooftop in Cullen
The dinosaur head on the roof of a shop in Cullen has been saved from extinction. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

A dinosaur in Moray is facing a £500 bill in order to make its return from the Jurassic era permanent.

The colourful head has been on the rooftop of the Cullen Antiques Centre for nearly a year as the owners try to sell it.

However, during that time, the sight of the striking character appearing to burst through the roof of the building has become an unlikely landmark for drivers on the A98 Buckie to Banff road.

Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago and in order to complete a comeback in Cullen, the antiques centre has now been forced to pay up to try and keep it.


What do you think about the Cullen dinosaur? Let us know in the comments below or e-mail livenews@pressandjournal.co.uk


Dino bringing a smile to Cullen

John Webb, owner of Cullen Antiques Centre, has stressed the rooftop decoration on The Outlet is not permanent.

He has condemned the order for planning permission as “completely unnecessary”.

He said: “It’s for sale, it’s not actually a fixed asset, it’s an installation sculpture which is mobile, but for whatever reason we have to apply for planning consent.

“We’ve already got buyers in England who are very interested in it, we just put it up as a positive uplift.

“I see it as completely unnecessary, having to apply for planning consent for something which is something that’s a mobile asset, it’s not constructed and integrated into the building in a fixed format.”

The Outlet on Seafield Street, Cullen with its painted dinosaur on the roof. Picture by Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Mr Webb says everyone they’ve met “loves” the dinosaur and for most people, it puts a smile on their faces.

He stressed that the dinosaur was also intended to promote both local talent and eco-housing in the area.

He added: “It’s situated on a derelict building, which is an eyesore, and we’re amplifying the point that we want to actually redevelop that building and turn it into some eco-housing.

“There’s a shortfall of housing in Cullen so we tried to get as much publicity as we can, which is why we put it there and it generated a lot of interest.

“We’re also promoting a local artist who did the upcycled form of the actual head, we think it’s quite entertaining and amusing.

“It draws attention to the village, everyone’s going through this financial crisis just now and a bit of happiness, light and relief going round goes a long way,” he added.

Prehistoric planning concerns

A Moray Council spokeswoman stressed the dinosaur has fallen foul of business development rules surrounding material changes to the way buildings are used, which requires additional paperwork.

She said: “The installation of the dinosaur head constitutes operational development and therefore requires planning permission. A retrospective application has been submitted and this is pending consideration.”

Street view of  The Outlet in Cullen with its painted dinosaur on the roof. Picture by Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

The psychedelic dinosaur head first appeared roaring from the rooftop in May last year after it was purchased from England for restoration.

Rosie Henderson, manager of the antique centre told The P&J the sculpture was like a “broken shell” when they bought it and the team resolved to restore it.

Local artist Jake Westlake upcycled the prehistoric monster- giving it a bright and cheery paint to contrast its fearsome roar.

Conversation