Home   News   Article

Elgin fails in bid to become a city as part of Queen's Platinum Jubilee


By Ewan Malcolm

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

ELGIN has failed in its bid to become a city as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee civic honours competition.

Alastair Kennedy, Elgin Community Council Chair, said it was disappointing to see Elgin miss out on becoming a city. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Alastair Kennedy, Elgin Community Council Chair, said it was disappointing to see Elgin miss out on becoming a city. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

Elgin Community Council and Elgin Bid had supported the application last October before it was formally submitted by Moray Council.

Alastair Kennedy, Chair of Elgin Community Council, said: "Obviously we're very disappointed. A lot of hard work went into the bid. We wish all the successful applicants well but we're just sad that it's not ourselves.

"I think a lot of us still consider Elgin a city but it's just a pity that we don't have anything official to say that.

"I'm disappointed for everyone involved and I hope we didn't raise the hopes and expectations of members of the public too much."

Many Moray locals believe Elgin to be a city due to Elgin Cathedral. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Many Moray locals believe Elgin to be a city due to Elgin Cathedral. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

Cllr John Divers, Moray Council's representative with Elgin BID, echoed Mr Kennedy's disappointment but insisted there is still hope for future applications.

"We've put down a marker now," he said.

"Hopefully in the future we can get that official recognition as a a city.

"There was kind of an expectation that there would only be the one selected in Scotland.

"We're disappointed for Elgin and for Moray because it would have brought so many advantages to the area but there's no reason why we can't get that official recognition in the future."

Moray MP Douglas Ross praised the efforts of those involved with the bid and encouraged them to try again in the future.

Mr Ross said: "It was never going to be easy, and the team responsible for the bid did extremely well to submit such a positive case, and I hope they won’t be discouraged from trying again in the future if the opportunity arises.

"Elgin has a lot to offer and putting a bid together outlines all its positive attributes, and hopefully this is something we can build on going forward.

"The cross-party support showed we were all pulling in the same direction, but on this occasion it wasn't to be."

Of the 39 towns to apply for city status just eight have been selected for the honour.

Dunfermline was the only Scottish town to be successful in its application, while in England Milton Keynes, Doncaster and Colchester will also become cities.

Elsewhere in the UK, Bangor in Northern Ireland and Wrexham in Wales were successful in their bids.

Stanley in the Falklands and Douglas in the Isle of Man rounded off the list of successful applicants.

South Ayrshire, Dumfries, Greenock, Livingston, Oban and St Andrews joined Elgin in being unsuccessful in their bids.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More