The clearance of a vacant retail and residential site in Peterhead owned by Aberdeenshire Council has been approved, ahead of planned regeneration.

The three vacant shops and 58 vacant residential units on a one-acre site at the junction of St Peter Street and Errol Street are not fit for purpose.

The property was advertised for sale as a development opportunity in 2005 and there was subsequently an application from a private developer to develop the site.

That application was conditionally approved, but the developer withdrew from its plans after nearly three years, leaving the authority free to deal with the site.

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Potential uses for the site require to be clarified by the Buchan Area Committee, with due consideration of the Peterhead Regeneration Strategy.

The committee will also have to approve a tender for the clearance work before it can go ahead.

Council officers believe it would ensure public safety and enhance both the appearance and marketability of the site.

The area committee will consider the future use of the site in accordance with the Buchan Area Plan 2007-2010 at its meeting on June 24.

A report on the proposals is expected to come back to the area committee in September.

It is hoped redevelopment of the site would have an energising effect on the local economy.

It is thought the cleared site could be used to provide temporary car parking while its future is decided.

Speaking at the Social Work and Housing Committee meeting at which clearance of the site was approved, Peterhead North and Rattray Councillor Anne Allan said: "I'm delighted to see this report coming in.

"I would like to see the results of Planning for Real for central Peterhead taken into account.

"The request from them was for leisure and retail, which is what is needed in Peterhead."

(GK/JM)