£6,000,000 funding for Moray Leisure Centre expansion
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MORAY Council is to give £6 million to plans to expand Moray Leisure Centre.
Voting in private, councillors agreed to give the redevelopment bid a £2 million grant, along with a £4 million loan, at last Wednesday's (June 28) full Council meeting.
However, the cash will only be released if the £18 million project meets currently-unknown conditions.
The redevelopment was launched last December by charity Moray Leisure Ltd – which rents and runs the Council-owned Moray Leisure Centre.
The decision was taken during the same full council meeting (Wednesday, June 28) – in which councillors voted in private to shut Elgin Community Centre in 2024.
The Council has launched a consultation on the future of the building, with user groups and others.
Speaking when plans were revealed, Councillor David Gordon, a director of Moray Leisure Ltd, said the project would see a "doubling" of the Borough Briggs Road facility which would "increase membership dramatically".
Proposed centre improvements, as of December, included: a new gym; two new fitness studios; ice rink improvements; additional changing areas; a bigger and modernised reception; and an larger café area.
A spokesperson for Moray Council said: “We are supportive of the ambition of the Board of Moray Leisure Centre to undertake a major capital re-development of the building.
"This is in order to future-proof the centre as a financially sustainable facility which can grow its membership, meet zero carbon ambitions and provide the region with a modern facility that promotes health and wellbeing in the widest sense.
"Following consideration of the full business case produced by Moray Leisure Centre, the council has agreed, in principle, to financial support for the expansion project.
"The council has agreed a capital grant of £2m and capital loan of £4m subject to a number of conditions being met.”
In December, the estimated repair bill for the leisure centre was more than £4 million and Cllr Gordon argued the major redevelopment would save a "huge amount of money in the long term".
Moray Council currently gives Moray Leisure Limited around £500,000 a year to help with operational costs.
However, when plans were announced, director of Moray Leisure Limited Councillor Marc Macrae said the expansion could help the centre meet increased demand and become more profitable.
He said: "After 2027 we could be in a position to return money to the Council and be able to build other council facilities."
