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Quicksnip salon wins relocation to Victoria Road. (by Billy Youngson) A HAIRDRESSING salon forced to move to allow condemned flats to be bulldozed has won council backing to relocate to a residential area. Quicksnip owner Linda Strachan can take her business to Peterhead's Victoria Road despite neighbour objections, the Buchan Area Committee decided on Tuesday. Her application came about following the council's announcement that they would tear down the five-storey St Peter Street flats. Soaring maintenance costs and a lack of interest from would-be tenants forced the council to move all tenants and business out of the block in preparation for demolition. Mrs Strachan is the last remaining user of the near-derelict building. She has been in on-going negotiations with the council to find a new home for her business and agree a compensation package. The two-bedroomed Victoria Road flat will be converted to provide two salon rooms, a sunbed room and a hairwashing area. Neighbours fear the decision will create a lack of car parking and lead to property devaluation. Council planners gave the application their backing before it went before the area committee for final approval. They said the alterations to the flat should not detract from the area as most of the work is carried out on the inside. Other concerns from local residents included a potential rise in noise from late night opening. Councillors have imposed a restriction on working hours as a condition of the consent. Aberdeenshire Council had to inform the Scottish Executive of the application as there was a council interest. The council is seeking a compulsory purchase order on Mrs Strachan's existing base. It will not pay for the premises but may contribute to the refitting of a new salon through a compensation package. Peterhead Central councillor George Barnes said: "We have come across circumstances where there have been residential concerns before. "In this case the conditions attached to the application make sure the amenity of the area will be preserved. "Most of the alterations to the building itself will be internal." He added: "The concerns about the operation have also been dealt with by restricting the hours and because of these facts I support the recommendation to approve the application." Mrs Strachan says she has no intention to move to Victoria Road at this point in time. The St Peter Street flats have survived less than three decades in the town. When built in the mid-70s, the block of 34 flats and maisonettes won an award for design. Tenants began moving out of the building at the end of last year after agreeing to compensation from the council. The building has now been boarded up and locked off.
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