Moray councillors have moved to quell concerns that Elgin’s town centre is being ruined by unwanted vegetation by insisting a solution exists if people are willing to use it.
A number of local shoppers and residents have condemned the “appalling” condition of some shop units on the High Street and Lossie Wynd, which have trees and weeds growing out of buildings.
Speaking last night, one concerned shopper said: “There’s so many empty shops in the middle of Elgin. But, is it any wonder? I wouldn’t take my business here with the nick of some of these buildings. It’s appalling.”
However, councillor John Divers, Elgin City South, said Elgin Business Improvement District (Bid) secured funding to help address the issue, but many businesses chose not to “take advantage”.
He said: “This has been an ongoing thing. Elgin Bid put money towards a scheme to share the cost of clearing the unsightly foliage, but some businesses refused to take advantage of it.
“It’s amazing, with the unwanted vegetation that in some cases actually starts growing into the build itself, that some of these people chose not to do it when they are all paying their levies anyway.
“The public have raised the issue time and time again over the years, but we granted businesses the opportunity to sort it and some companies chose not to take advantage of it.”
Councillor James Allan, Elgin City South, said: “Maybe a year ago, Bid got the money, and they cleared quite a lot of it all along the High Street and Lossie Wynd. It was really bad before, and it has improved a lot recently.”
Gordon Methven, Elgin Community Council secretary, said: “The issue has been going on for a while, and it came up at a previous meeting. The response we received at the time was that the massive expense involved in clearing the vegetation was prohibitive. Hence, the reason why it wasn’t completely cleared.”
A spokeswoman for Elgin Bid said: “Elgin Bid secured funding to run a shrubbery removal programme, which allowed the businesses to get help and support to remove shrubbery at vastly reduced costs.
“A number of businesses bought into the programme and took advantage of the opportunity. It is an issue that we are continuing to look at through our role in the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS).”