A group of Portgordon residents opposed to redevelopment in their village are laying plans to form a community company to take ownership of beachfront land.
The Save Our Portgordon Beach group was formed on the back of opposition to plans by Stoke-based landowner Gemma Campbell, who wished to build several new homes along the shoreline as well as the creation of new tourism facilities.
After meeting with local MSP Richard Lochhead, Ms Campbell withdrew two planning applications and indicated that she was willing to discuss sale of all or part of the land to community ownership.
However, not all villagers are against her original plans, with one contacting insideMoray to say that several people in the area were ‘disgusted’ that any moves to improve facilities in Portgordon were being blocked by a ‘selfish minority’.
The resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “Two members of the protesting group appeared before our local community council but the vote went against them simply because many people in the village welcome the plans put forward by Gemma Campbell.
“It would appear that in Portgordon as in other parts of Moray those who shout the loudest are taken to be the voices of their community – but that is not the case, it seems to many people that opposition to these plans are born more from a ‘not in my back yard’ mentality than what is actually good for the village.
“There are people in Portgordon who are disgusted that these plans are being blocked in their name by a selfish minority, the real problem is that many are actually unwilling to speak out in favour and that is a real shame.”
The chairwoman for Save Our Portgordon Beach, Pringle George, announced on Monday that a public meeting will be held in the village hall on Wednesday, September 18 at 7pm, where all villagers are invited to attend and provide their views on a potential buyout of the land by the community.
Plans from the group include the formation of Portgordon Community Limited with a view to registering an interest in purchasing the land. Letters and survey forms outlining their plans are to be distributed to village residents this week.