Residents in a Moray village have formed a support group backing plans to build a new boatyard and cafe – and claiming that it was an opportunity most communities “would jump at”.
Plans to develop part of the beach front area in Portgordon have been the subject of fierce opposition from some residents, with a ‘Save our Portgordon Beach’ campaign group set up to fight plans that would initially have seen a new housing development alongside the boatyard and cafe.
However, following discussions landowner Gemma Campbell withdrew the housing proposals and submitted new plans for an amended commercial boatyard and cafe development.
The Save our Portgordon Beach group pledged to oppose that as well – but that has now sparked the creation of a second group in the village who are determined to see the proposals come to fruition.
Behind a Facebook group backing the development in the village is Maureen Burrows, who insisted that there is a large support for the development amongst people in Portgordon.
She said: “I can understand people who retire here being worried about the village changing, but the developers are talking about a cafe and boatyard, not a nuclear reactor.
“How lucky are we as a village to have this chance? Most communities would jump at it. If we let this opportunity pass we are definitely on the decline.”
Members of the Save our Portgordon Beach group held a meeting last month when the option of setting up a community purchase scheme was discussed, that did not achieve the required support.
Now Ms Burrows insists that something needs to be done, saying: “The village is dying and we need to do something about it.
“The cafe and boatyard would be good not just for Portgordon but for the whole area – both will attract people and once they are here they will need to eat, shop and stay somewhere.”