Dean’s of Huntly has now been granted planning permission in principle and will be able to construct The Ward on the outskirts of the town, adjacent to the A97 Huntly to Banff road.

The ruling overturns a decision by Aberdeenshire Council to reject the application after it deemed the proposal contravened the local development plan.

Councillors also said the scheme was too large to be considered a small-scale development, for which the site had previously been earmarked.

The company hopes the development would solve the lack of office space in the town centre as well as parking issues.

Managing director Bill Dean said: “There’s no real space on the town periphery that’s dedicated to small businesses.

“This will have great access to the A97 and the town roundabout and will be of great benefit to the town.

“We will be looking to start advertising for businesses in the coming months.”