Moffat’s eyesore former Mercury Motor Inn is no more.

It has been bulldozed and the land cleared after three weeks of work on site with a cost of up to £150,000.

Building warrant approval for the long anticipated work was given by Dumfries and Galloway council in October to Equorium Property Company Ltd – a subsidiary of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which bought it after it closed as a hotel in 1999 and nothing with it.

They did not need planning permission for the demolition as the hotel is outwith the Moffat Conservation Area and is unlisted.

It is understood that EPCL intend to turn it into a car park as part of plans for the Moffat Mill site, although the company is not commenting to media outlets.

Moffat and District Community Council, which has long campaigned for action at the site, said: “We now look forward to seeing Eqorium’s proposals for the overall development of the entire Moffat Mill site, which we hope is to become a real asset to Moffat’s community and economy.”

The property, which has been boarded up and lain empty all of this century, had long been a bone of contention in the community with many calls by the public and politicians for it to be either redeveloped or pulled down.