Moray Council: Decision on long-term future of Elgin Community Centre expected to be delayed

A decision on the long-term future of Elgin Community Centre is expected to be delayed until the end of this year.

The centre on the town’s Trinity Road is costing Moray Council almost £14,000 per year to keep open.

Home to early education provider VIP Childcare, the building is also used by the local authority for meetings in addition to those it holds at its headquarters on Elgin High Street.

However, only two-thirds of the community groups based at the centre before the pandemic have returned.

Meanwhile, restrictions introduced because of Covid have seen admission levels plummet.

The number of users stood at 88,045 over the course of the 12 months directly before the pandemic.

By contrast, that number had fallen to 26,476 during the last nine months of 2021.

While the facility has recovered 91% of its pre-pandemic Fit Life membership, the café franchise has not been operating over the last 12 months.

The community centre, which dates back to the 1960s, was threatened with closure three years ago.

However the council decided to keep the building open with the aim of assisting clubs and groups based there to find other more suitable locations.

But this, the local authority says, has proved difficult because of a lack of acceptable and affordable venues in the town.

Also, a new lease has been arranged with VIP Childcare that runs until the summer of 2026.

The childcare group is key to the local authority being able to meet its statutory duty to provide early years education for all three-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds.

A review of the centre's future was scheduled to take place this coming May.

But this date clashes with the upcoming local elections.

A report going before the education, children’s and leisure services committee this week recommends a decision on the future of the centre should be deferred.

In her report Kim Slater, the council's sport and cultural services manager, says: "The planned 12 month review period coincides with the local government elections in May 2022.

"It has also proved challenging to take the planned work forward during the Covid pandemic and further time to assess the recovery impact would be useful.

"So taking these into account, it is proposed to consider deferring a decision on this matter until after the election period."

The education, children’s and leisure services committee meeting is being held this Wednesday.

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