Plans to create a heritage centre at Rubislaw Quarry in Aberdeen have suffered a setback after a tribunal denied the application.

Businessman Hugh Black wants to transform parts of the flooded quarry into a £6 million heritage centre and tourist attraction celebrating Aberdeen’s granite history.

A five-day Lands Tribunal for Scotland hearing was held last November into the application to vary title conditions at the site to allow the project to go ahead.

However, in a report which it is understood will be published today, the application has been denied, casting doubt on the future of the project.

Mr Black has six weeks in which to lodge an appeal at the Court of Session.

The businessman said he was “shocked” and would be seeking further legal advice.

Rival developers Carttera, who hope to build a £68m, up to 10-storey high development on the northern edge of the quarry including 300 flats, a gym and more, welcomed the decision.

The Toronto-based company’s founder Jim Tadeson said he felt “gratified” by the news.

Carttera’s proposals for the quarry also feature a “heritage bistro” which is planned to host a permanent exhibition detailing the history of Rubislaw Quarry, which gave Aberdeen its Granite City nickname.

A spokesman for the Lands Tribunal for Scotland said: “It was a big decision, in that it was a five day hearing, to do with an application to vary a title condition that affected the quarry and on the face of it prohibited a granite heritage centre that the applicants wanted to build.

“Mr Black was applying for the decision, and that outcome has not gone in his favour.”