Views shared during a public consultation on proposals to sell land at Canal Park in Banff to allow for a supermarket development will be brought before councillors next week.
Member of the Banff & Buchan Area Committee will be presented with a summary of the responses at their meeting next Tuesday (Aug 17) before deciding whether or not to support the sale of the common good land.
Supermarket firm Morrisons was named as the preferred bidder for the project, which would involve the creation of a supermarket, café, filling station, car wash, and parking on land at Canal Park/Old Market Place.
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The area of ground and buildings proposed for the project lies to the west of the Deveron Bridge and currently features a grass football pitch (Canal Park), pavilion, and the former Bridge Street Community Centre.
The land also includes three redundant tennis courts and a basketball court. The adjacent Princess Royal Park does not form part of the project.
The report to be presented to councillors highlights that there were 336 formal responses from members of the public and local groups over 10 weeks from April to June this year.
The feedback for and against the proposals has been organised under the themes of economic impact, community impact, location, infrastructure, and environmental.
If the committee supports the proposed sale, a retail impact assessment will be prepared, and arrangements will be made to seek approval from the Court of Session for the sale of the land at Lower Deveronside.
Proceeds from any sale of the land would be passed to the council's Common Good Fund, with the money reserved for the benefit of the Banff and Macduff communities under the council's Common Good Fund.
