The application, lodged on May 13, has sent a shiver down the spine of some the town's publicans, worried that the introduction of a 'super pub' into the heart of Montrose could impact on their business.

Anne Higgins, the chair of 20-strong Montrose Pub Watch and owner of the Neptune Bar, said publicans were also concerned that the current licence in place at the Gala Bingo was not suitable for a pub.

"We have, through Pub Watch, put in an objection," she said. "It is a licensed premises, but it is an entertainments licence and not a pub licence.

"It is also another licensed premises and it has worried some. We've had a few comments and, because of that, we've put in an objection based on over-provision."

Mrs Higgins said she had worries that the addition of a new 'super pub' could lead to a concentration of people in the centre of the town and develop problems similar to those suffered in Baltic Street in recent years.

She said: "If it is full like they hope it would be, there could be 40-50 people coming out at the same time onto the High Street. That could be a problem."

However, Mrs Higgins doesn't feel the addition of a pub in Hume Street would have a huge impact on her business, as she said Belhaven don't tend to deep-discount their drinks and the Neptune relies more on regulars rather than passing trade

The new owners of the Albert Bar, Tom Keane and his brother Mike, do have concerns about the prospect of a Belhaven development, having just taken over the pub two months ago.

Tom said: "It's a worry that there could be a big new place opening up. We are wondering how it will affect our business. It was just a couple of weeks after we bought the place we heard about it.

"We're not even sure what it will be yet. If it's a club, people will still come here, but we can't really tell until it happens.

"Here we've got a good base with the locals, but it would be the weekend trade it would affect the most.

"We'll just have to wait to see what happens."