Town Centre Funding Bid Fails

Date Added - 06/08/09

A £1.2million bid for funding to help revitalise five town centres in Moray has been unsuccessful first time round.

However, a renewed bid will be made to the Scottish Government's town centre regeneration fund later this month.

The application by Moray Council outlined a number of town centre initiatives for Elgin, Buckie, Keith, Forres and Lossiemouth covering a range of environmental, infrastructure and building projects.

The council has been advised that the application was unsuccessful, but it will have the opportunity to reapply by the second round deadline of August 28.

The aim of the application to the regeneration fund was to make the town centres more attractive to shoppers, visitors and businesses and improve the local economy and the local environment.

Proposed projects highlighted in the application included environmental improvements in Elgin, Keith and Lossiemouth along with shop front improvements in all five towns, renovation of bus shelters, the installation of electronic tourist information points and information boards, and improved electricity supplies on the Plainstones in Elgin.

The application was supported by information which outlined how these proposals would help retain and attract visitors, provide better facilities for businesses and visitors, improve accessibility and infrastructure, help the local economy and generally make town centres more attractive.

The total cost of all the projects was estimated at £1.7million, with the balance of around £500,000 coming from Moray Council, the Elgin Fund, the Moray Towns Partnership and local businesses.

Councillor John Russell, chairman of the council's economic development and infrastructure services committee, said: "The council put forward a number of innovative projects which would have helped to improve the attractiveness of each town centre for shoppers, visitors and local businesses.

"This would have had a positive effect on the local economy for each town and I am extremely disappointed that the application was unsuccessful.

"However, we will be putting every effort into making a resubmission for the second round of the fund at the end of August.

"We hope that the decision makers will see the benefits of the proposals which we are presenting and how they will not only meet the criteria of the fund but help the future vitality and economy in our town centres."