Elgin City Centre Masterplan approved following public input
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The Elgin City Centre Masterplan has been unanimously approved following a Moray Council meeting earlier today.
Significant changes have been made to the original draft plan since the public were first asked their views back in March.
Certain proposals have received widespread public support, such as the regeneration of South Street and Thunderton Place.
Making improvements to North Port and Cooper Park have also proved popular, as are proposals to further refurbish Elgin Town Hall.
Meanwhile, strong support for the inclusion of the St Giles Centre and Elgin Museum have seen them added to the final masterplan.
But, based on the feedback received from the public, other proposals contained in the draft plan have been dropped, such as the idea of building a statue of an angel in Cooper Park.
In addition, a level crossing will no longer be built across the A96 to the park.
Instead, a new bridge over the busy road is being proposed.
Another original proposal which succeeded in gaining little support from the public was a luxury hotel sited at Lossie Green.
The search for a suitable site has now been revised to encompass a wider area of the town.
In total, the Elgin Masterplan received more than 1000 comments.
There were also more than 3500 views of a virtual online exhibition, plus 60 entries from young people for the Cooper Park design competition.
Gary Templeton, the council's strategic planning and development manager, said the input from the public had been "invaluable".
He added: "The feedback led us to change some less popular options, strengthen those that were well supported and include new suggestions to investigate further.
"There's no doubt that we now have a really fantastic, clear vision for the future of Elgin and I look forward to all projects progressing over the coming years."
Councillor David Bremner, the chair of the Planning and Regulatory Services Committee, said: "I can see from the feedback from the public that they really understand the aim of this masterplan so it's great to see their enthusiasm for the projects.
Cllr Bremner (Fcohabers/Lhanbryde, SNP) added: "Improving the night-time economy in Elgin, creating new spaces and regenerating the centre of town will give a boost to the whole of Moray and I look forward to seeing the knock-on effect of this reinvention of Elgin."
The masterplan was prepared in a collaboration between the council, Elgin BID and Elgin Community Council.
Its final version can be found here.
The delivery plans for the various projects can be found here.
