Decision expected for bid to turn Fife Keith's Fife Arms pub into house following "dwindled" patron numbers
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
PLANS to turn a Fife Keith pub into a home are soon to be decided upon.
With the September 5 determination deadline already passed, council officers are expected to announce whether the Regent Street's Fife Arms Hotel might have a future as a private house.
The Fife Arms Hotel was contacted in advance of this article, but did not respond to a request for comment.
Submitted by architect Colin Thompson for applicant Steven Taylor, the application seeks permission to turn the bar area and function room into a "family home."
The design and access statement for the plans explains that, despite the hostel having "operated successfully for a number of decades", the number of patrons has "dwindled" after the business was "heavily impacted during the Covid pandemic".
And, since re-opening, the business has "struggled to attract the public to pre-pandemic numbers" and has struggled with having enough staff to operate the full service, leading to unplanned closures.
The pub's kitchen area, it adds, has been "non-operational for some time and they have been unable to provide a food service".
Despite the pub and function room's closure under the plans, the Fife Arms will continue to offer accommodation under the plans, in a bid to "adapt and evolve to suit the current conditions in order to continue operating".
A consultation on the plans began on July 17 and ended on August 14.
For the works required to turn the building into a private home, application documents say plans "keep alterations to a minimum" and use the same materials as the existing building to meet conservation area rules.
Describing the Fife Arms as "most likely a former dwelling house", the plans indicate that the resulting home would be a three-bed property.
Two anonymous comments have been left by members of the public on the Moray Council planning website.
One comment reads: "This history of the pub has to be continued.
"The building has never been a house and has always been a hotel / coach house.
"This will have a detrimental affect on the local community."
While another reads: "I would like to remain anonymous but I object strongly to this development.
"In the planning application it states that the site was probably at one time a residential dwelling house but there is no evidence to prove this.
"Local history books note the site as one of two hotels in Fife Keith dating back to the 1840s.
"This historical significance should not be overlooked.
"The bar was also one of the busiest in Keith after lockdown due to the addition of a beer garden, completed whilst the bar was closed during the pandemic.
"The local community regularly use the busy bar as a means of company, with it being a solace to many who frequent there.
"The historical and social importance of the bar shouldn't be dismissed.
"This new development going ahead would be very detrimental to the Fife Keith community."
