New abattoir plan reviewed after current site shuts

Plans for a new abattoir in Inverurie - to be built partly using public funds - are being reviewed after the closure of the existing facility.

A total of 90 jobs were lost this week when the Scotbeef slaughterhouse in the town's North Street abruptly closed its doors.

Almost half of a £4m Scottish government grant made for a new abattoir in 2018 has already been spent.

However, Scotbeef said work on the project had been paused while a review was carried out into its sustainability.

Scotbeef blamed this week's decision to close the North Street abattoir on what it called the sustained challenges facing the industry.

A redundancy process has now started with staff.

It is the latest setback for long-term plans to replace it with a state of the art new abattoir and meat processing facility close to the town's Thainstone auction mart.

Housing was to be built on the North Street site, which sits in a residential area and beside a primary school.

Outline planning permission for 50 homes was granted in 2023 following the expiry of an earlier permission.

In 2018 the Scottish Government awarded Scotbeef £4m towards the project, almost half of which has been spent.

However, it is not known when, or even if, work will resume.

A spokesperson for Scotbeef said: "Work on the Thainstone site is currently paused as we undertake a review of the project's long-term viability in light of increasingly challenging market conditions.

"Of the £4m Scottish government grant awarded in 2018, £1.96m has been drawn down.

"This money was spent acquiring the site for the proposed abattoir facility and for early-stage preparatory work.

"At this stage, no final decision on the future of the project has been taken."

The Scottish government, when asked if it was considering trying to recoup the grant, said there had been "no recent discussions" with the company.

"We will consider the options available over the grant funding once the company's intentions for the site are known," it said in a statement.

It added that its immediate concern was with the affected staff.