Funding from UK Government's Levelling Up Fund could help "increase footfall and vibrancy" in Elgin
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FUNDING from the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund could help "increase footfall and vibrancy" in Elgin town centre, according to local business groups.
Moray Council announced this week that it would bid for £18.29 million from the Levelling Up Fund to support the Elgin town centre masterplan that was approved by council in November.
The masterplan would see the reopening of the Elgin Club, 20 years after its closure, as a boutique hotel with restaurant and bar facilities. This would create 32 jobs.
A creative arts centre would also provide eight new jobs, while issues at the Auction Mart and former Sawmill by Linkwood Road would be addressed before they are opened up for commercial development.
Cooper Park would be redesigned as part of the masterplan, with walkways across the pond, a café and an amphitheatre.
Gemma Cruickshank, manager of Elgin BID, who helped create the masterplan, said: "The Levelling Up Fund is paramount to the recovery and the future growth of Elgin.
"High streets across the country are suffering. The South Street Development will be crucial to the growth of Elgin town centre through the development of derelict buildings to create a new space that will increase footfall and vibrancy.
"With few residential properties in the town centre, it is vital to create living space to introduce an evening economy that will help support local businesses.
"Elgin Business Improvement District fully supports the visions outlined within the Levelling Up Fund and we look to work in partnership with the Moray Council to deliver these projects that need the full support of the Levelling Up Fund."
Moray Council is competing against local authorities from across Scotland for levelling up money, with an outcome expected this autumn.
Sarah Medcraf, chief executive of Moray Chamber of Commerce, believes the impact of the money and the masterplan could be felt Moray-wide.
“An investment of this size in to Elgin is significant for the whole region," she said.
"The impact that this will have locally and regionally is exciting to see and I am hopeful that this bid will be accepted by the UK government in the autumn.
"Moray will grow and improve through collaboration and whilst this particular fund is Elgin centre-focused, there are a number of other Moray-wide projects which I hope to be celebrating in the near future, too.”
