The campaign against Elgin’s controversial link road has suffered a blow after a leading citizen’s group declined to lodge an objection.
A planning application was lodged last month by Moray Council for the £8.5million route which will directly link the Edgar retail park to the A96 Inverness-Aberdeen road.
Members of the public now have until Tuesday, May 27, to send in their views about the proposal.
More than 200 people have already taken the opportunity, with the large majority opposing the proposal.
However, in a formal letter Elgin Community Council has stated again that it has not and will not join the anti-campaign.
It said: “When the plans went out for consultation there followed a public outcry, mostly from residents that stay along the proposed route. We were verbally asked to support their campaign against the proposals.
“As a body which represents the whole of Elgin our members believed that we were obliged by our constitution to reflect the views of all residents across our area, and felt unable to participate as a group.
“We have had practically no representations of opposition to the route from other parts of Elgin despite conversing over the period with as many residents of these areas as possible and meetings being open to public attendance.
“Having examined the application, we find no areas of relevant planning conditions that require an official objection to be lodged.”
The letter added that it could see the road would bring overall benefits, including better distribution of traffic in west and south-west Elgin, as well as a new railway crossing.
A noted voice of dissent in the community council was Jim Wiseman, an Edgar Road resident who has been a leader of public opposition to the link road.
He said: “The letter is the democratically arrived at view of the community council so I accept it.
“But I am disappointed that it didn’t do more to reflect the huge concerns of the very many people living along the route.
“It’s a blow but it’s not insurmountable.”