Residents dismay as cafe work starts at Cruden Bay
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Cruden Bay residents have voiced their dismay as construction workers start work on the new cafe at Port Erroll Harbour.
Fencing around the site went up earlier this week while a digger arrived shortly afterwards.
This marks the first phase of works for the new Harbour Dunes Cafe that was given the go-ahead last year.
The controversial proposal was narrowly approved by councillors following a tense vote.
In a matter of days, builders have already set out the car park area.
The next phase will see the cafe foundations constructed and substructure put in place.
Once this is done, the eatery’s main cabins will be installed.
The cafe is expected to have a v-shaped layout and will be constructed from shipping containers, steel and timber cladding.
Work on the Port Erroll Harbour site is expected to finish in October.
But one Cruden Bay resident said she was “absolutely horrified” and “speechless” to see construction begin.
Elizabeth Oates told us: “We are all amazed this is going ahead as it is in a conservation area, we can’t understand why this is happening.
“People have been going down there in absolute total amazement because I don’t think anyone expected it to be right in front of the house as it is.
“It seems to be that now it’s there and it’s gone through planning, there’s not much that anyone can do.
“I find that absolutely horrifying really.”
However she noted that locals shouldn’t be too surprised about the work as it had been on the cards for the past year.
She added: “I’ve lived here a long time and as far as I’m concerned, it’s ripped the heart out of the harbour.
Elizabeth is a member of the Port Erroll Heritage Group.
But while she said the group weren’t against the cafe, members just wished it could have been located somewhere else.
“It hasn’t enhanced the place whereas a small cafe on the hardstanding would have been absolutely welcome, we wouldn’t have objected to that whatsover,” she said.
“We had a little pop-up cafe with cake and ice cream down there at the weekend, it did very well apart from the weather not being good.
“But why don’t they invest in that and then that helps the regeneration of the harbour as we want it to be regenerated.”
As part of the initial cafe plans, it was agreed that the Port Erroll Harbour Trust would lease land to the cafe operators.
The deal meant that providing the lease would allow money to be spent on carrying out vital repair works to the small port.
However Elizabeth isn’t convinced that is the case.
She explained: “Nothing has been mentioned about the harbour wall repairs, fishermen still use it today.
“The harbour has been neglected.
“There have been no gala days, pop-up cafes or anything like that and now all of a sudden this new cafe has appeared.
“They say it will bring jobs and revenue, but they won’t say where the revenue is going.”
The harbour trust was recently awarded cash from Aberdeenshire Council to help fund a study that will identify any work needed to protect the port from further damage.
The construction work has also led to fears the historic drying green would be destroyed forever.
The site in question has been part of Port Erroll’s history for many years.
It was gifted to local fishermen who would use the iconic poles to hang up their salmon drying nets.
Members of the Heritage Group originally thought that just three of the poles would be coming down, but they have realised more have been torn down.
They had initially voiced a desire to refurbish the net poles or use them to create benches for use at the harbour.
Elizabeth added: “The conservation area stretches from the corner of Main Street right the way down to the harbour.
“In my opinion, they may as well come and take that sign down now because it means nothing to the village anymore.”
The Port Erroll Harbour Trust has been contacted for comment.
