An ambitious project to breathe new life into the centre of Elgin is gathering pace after being given the seal of approval this week.
With some tweaks to the original blueprints, the final draft of the Elgin City Centre Masterplan was given the go-ahead at a meeting of the planning and regulatory services committee.
Regenerating empty eye-sore buildings, revamping Cooper Park and building a brand new amphitheater at the heart of Elgin are just some of the wide-ranging improvements included in the plans.
But what does all this mean for locals and when can we see the ambitious transformation take shape?
What was changed in the draft masterplan?
Although the masterplan was approved, there were some “significant” changes made to the initial proposals.
Most of the tweaks in the now approved blueprints have been based on feedback from the public following a consultation held earlier this year. The plan received more than 1,000 comments in total and gathered more than 3,500 views of the virtual exhibition.
So what were the tweaks?
Proposals to erect a sculpture of an angel from the Cooper Park pond have been dropped after the consultation showed there was no support for it among locals.
The location of a luxury hotel originally put forward for Lossie Green has also been reconsidered – with the local authority now expanding its search area to find a more suitable site.
Further on, Active Travel plans have been altered to look at the feasibility of a new bridge over the A96 to Cooper Park, instead of the previously suggested surface level crossing.
While some of the projects were scrapped from the final masterplan, other were added following strong support for their inclusion.
With a number of empty units in the town centre, the council will now discuss and explore opportunities to attract and relocate businesses to St Giles Shopping Centre.
The move is hoped to bring greater diversity of services on offer in the centre and transform it into a vibrant and thriving location for local businesses.
The redevelopment of the Category A-listed Elgin Museum, which is considered as one of the town’s key heritage and tourism assets, has also been included in the plans.
As well as restoring the historic building to its former glory, the council will bring an adjoining vacant property back into use as part of their drive to enhance the cultural offering in the centre.
How much will it cost and where is the money coming from?
The project will be funded from a number of parties, both internal and external, including Scottish Government, UK Government, Moray Council and Creative Scotland.
As the masterplan is still in its initial stages, the local authority hasn’t specified the overall cost for all the ambitious improvements, however, has released the necessary cash to take the first steps. This includes:
- £100,000 for feasibility studies and initial design works for two new bridges in Elgin – one over the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line and another between Northport and Cooper Park
- £150,000 for the outline design of specific road improvements – such as the A941 and Edgar Road junction, as well as the A941 and Moss Street junction.
The hotel along with the redevelopment of Grant Lodge, improvements at Cooper Park and Elgin Town Hall will be funded through the £100 million Moray Growth Deal.
However, the exact amount of cash needed for each of the upgrades is yet to be announced.
Private and additional funding is expected to be secured in due course depending on the individual project, while details of costs will be revealed as the actions progress and evolve.
When are we likely to see upgrades take shape?
As well as the draft masterplan, members agreed a timetable – although a relatively rough one – for a 46 point action plan and for a steering group to be established to oversee it.
Most of the initial planning work and feasibility studies have already been commissioned for this month to get the ball rolling, however, locals won’t see any of the transformation take shape at least until 2024.
Some of the existing public art – including the colourful eccentric statue of Dandy Lion on Elgin High Street – is expected to be relocated in 2024.
This will allow work to begin on a wide range of improvements on the streets in the town centre, such as installing additional seating and art panels.
However, according to the council’s current timetable, the majority of the long-anticipated bigger projects are expected to be completed by 2026, with all design work finished by 2022.
These include the refurbishment and extension of the Elgin Town Hall and the Grant Lodge, the Cooper Park transformation and the creation of the 100-seat outdoor performance area.