The first projects aiming to breathe new life into six Moray towns are expected to be agreed next week.
A £200,000 package of improvements to help regenerate the communities will go before councillors on Tuesday.
The funds come from Moray Council coffers and form part of the local authority’s economic recovery plan.
It includes £80,000 towards improving the natural environment, upgrading signs and street furniture.
It will also include opportunities to grow food at Reidhaven Square in Keith and at Dufftown.
In Buckie, an artist will be appointed to work with the community to develop a theme for regenerating the town centre.
£200k improvement package
£75,000 will also be used to showcase the town’s heritage as well as improve signage and seating.
Forres is expected to receive £35,000 to match Town Centre Capital Fund money for regeneration around Tolbooth Street. This is to support the creation of a heritage quarter, which is part of a wider application to Historic Environment
Scotland Heritage and Place Programme.
There is also £10,000 for the refurbishment of public toilets in Aberlour, that are subject of a community asset transfer. Any underspend will be used to upgrade seating and landscaping at the square.
While there is no council cash for Lossiemouth at the moment, proposals to turn the vacant Warehouse Theatre into a community well-being hub could benefit from £50,000 from the Scottish Government Place Based Investment Fund.
Members of the planning and regulatory services committee will also be asked to approve the final town centre improvement plans (TCIPs) for Aberlour, Buckie, Dufftown, Forres, Keith and Lossiemouth at a meeting on October 25.
It comes after an eight-week consultation into the proposals. This was held between January and March and received 243 responses.
What are they trying to do?
The plans aim to make each town centre more attractive for people to live in and tourists to visit. This will be achieved by improving accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, promoting heritage, restoring buildings and creating more environmentally friendly communities.
Additional funding is being sought so all the plans can come to fruition.
In the report, principal planning officer Eily Webster said: “The final TCIPs set out in this report strengthen local town centres, provide improvements to active travel, propose redevelopment of vacant and derelict buildings to encourage town centre living and therefore reduce car reliance helping to minimise carbon emissions.
“The proposals also include greening of the town centres by improving soft landscaping such as planting and exploring food growing opportunities to further enhance biodiversity.”
Conversation