I'm not sure that the closure can be averted. M&S and Premier Inns want the site and have allegedly offered £4million for the site. It's in a residential area (well, houses have been built around the abattoir over the years) so I can't see the neighbours objecting
It's whether there's a case for a new abattoir, otherwise it's Dunblane or up Aberdeenshire way for us, with all the implications for animal welfare. And what about the so called "local food" agenda? Grantown is 130 miles from us, whereas St Andrews is 40.
St Andrews today - where next? Galashiels abattoir closed recently (the man who closed it is also a shareholder in St Andrews). Folk round there now have to go to Wishaw / Shotts or into England, and if they do the latter they cannot sell their produce as "Scotch" because it has been killed and processed in England.
Funny, someone contacted me about Gala abattoir recently and I was a bit "ach well, we're OK here" than the news about St Andrews broke, and it made me think. This is a Scotland side issue - a letter to Mr Lochhead might be a start.