Developers working on the redevelopment of a sheltered housing complex for Forres have been told to go back to the drawing board and reassess the plans, according to the Forres Gazette.

Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association (HSHA) will now rethink the application they submitted to Moray Council last May.

The new development is due to begin on the site of Hanover Court, Leask Road.

The plans would see the current building demolished and redeveloped into modern, energy efficient properties.

But problems surfaced when Historic Scotland announced concerns regarding a house adjacent to the building.

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The Association was informed in December of the need to resubmit.

A Hanover spokesperson said: "There has been detailed consideration by Historic Scotland of the demolition of the former manager’s house as part of the conservation area consent. As a result, we have been asked to reconsider the design of the development taking this into account and this is being reviewed."

A spokesperson for Historic Scotland said: "We recommended that the council should seek an amended scheme which retained the stone-built historic building which occupies one corner of the site; and that if it was to be demolished that the application would have to accord with the Scottish Historic Environment Policy and our guidance note on demolition within conservation areas."

He added: "We have had no correspondence with the council on this case since July 2012."

Hanover Court was built in 1977 and is a development of 33 sheltered properties, which have now been selected for a programme of modernisation over five to 10 years.

An HSHA study found that the most cost effective option was to demolish the existing development and construct 34 three-person extra care dwellings with associated support facilities in a new block.

(IT)