THE BEACH HUTS that split a Moray community and landed up at the Court of Session should be in place by the summer, according to developers.
When Moray Council granted planning permission for the huts on Findhorn Beach last year against the advice of local planners and objectors in the community, a campaign group was formed that took the issue to court in Edinburgh.
Around 175 letters of objection had been lodged against the plan to build the 2×2.5m structures, with a total of 30 huts planned with each being offered for sale at £25,000.
However, a ruling at the Court of Session last month found against campaigners who had raised £20,000 through crowdfunding to pay for their legal costs. Now the managing director of 1Architects, the firm behind the scheme, has revealed that construction on the huts is about to start.
“We decided not to perform any project planning until we learned the findings of the Court of Session,” Ian Sutherland McCook said, adding: “That would have been disrespectful to pre-judge the outcome, so we have only now been talking to contractors.
“Our intention is to start work as soon as practicable – and that could be within a few weeks – we would like to see them up by summer.”
Several expressions of interest had been shown in purchasing the huts before the legal challenge emerged – and the architect says that many of those who had done so and returned with renewed interest.
Mr Sutherland McCook added that he “truly believed” the huts would be a benefit for the village.