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.

Confusion over order to clear up historic Elgin mill site

Moray Council says an amenity notice was served on Patrick Thirkell to dispose of rubbish at Oldmills near the River Lossie in April.

Moray Council has taken direct action to clean up the historic Old Mills site on the outskirts of Elgin.
Moray Council has taken direct action to clean up the historic Old Mills site on the outskirts of Elgin.

There is confusion whether the owner of a historic Elgin mill has been told to clean up the site.

Moray Council says an amenity notice was served on Patrick Thirkell to dispose of rubbish at Oldmills near the River Lossie in April.

And the local authority believes he is not complying with the order.

But Mr Thirkell said he was “surprised” to hear the notice had been served.

‘It really is hell’

He added: “I know nothing about it. Everything there is to do with the repair of the mill.”

Mr Thirkell said the council was being “vindictive” and had stopped his efforts to develop a fish farm at the site as well as plans to install security.

He is writing to the local authority seeking clarification over the amenity notice.

If the order has been correctly served, the council will be able to tidy the site then bill Mr Thirkell for the work.

A disused vehicle in the overgrown grounds of Oldmills in Elgin.

Elgin South councillors John Divers, Graham Leadbitter and Peter Bloomfield visited the mill earlier this year.

They found gas canisters, oil canisters and scores of beer cans at the 10 acre site.

However Mr Thirkell, who lives in Hopeman, says the cans are part of a heat recovery project being developed by someone else.

Neighbours on Oldmills Road have complained for years that the area is being used as a dumping ground.

‘Surprised’

And the council has made several attempts to have the area cleared, including serving an amenity notice about six years ago.

There have also been several fires there.

One in February 2022 destroyed much of what was left of the mill building that dates back to the 13th century. And the road to it was closed for two days.

Local councillor Mr Divers said: “This is exhausting. It’s been going on for about 20 years.

The mill following a fire in February last year. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

“It really is hell. And it’s a total waste of time, money and energy.”

Previously Oldmills had been a coffee shop popular with locals and tourists.

Mr Leadbitter felt the current state of the building was a “significant concern” for people in the area.

Risk of explosion

He said: “There is clearly a range of challenging issues that need to be addressed and some are easier to deal with than others.

“The decision to carry out further planning enforcement action demonstrates the seriousness of the ongoing issues.”

Amenity notice

He said: “There were 25 gallon oil drums, 10 of them, and gas canisters there.

“I raised this with the fire service because if there was a fire there would be a risk of explosion.”

A Moray Council spokesperson said: “Due to the build-up of material affecting the amenity of the site, an Amenity Notice was issued in April 2023 requiring materials be removed by 5 July 2023.

“The notice has not been complied with and the council will progress this with the landowner.”

For more Elgin news and updates join our Facebook group.