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From giant letters to a ‘foodie capital’ rebranding: The ideas that could revive Elgin town centre

There was a vast variety of suggestions on how to transform Elgin.

One of the suggestions was giant light-up letters spelling out Elgin.  Image: Design team/ Chris Donnan
One of the suggestions was giant light-up letters spelling out Elgin. Image: Design team/ Chris Donnan

Many creative and interesting ideas have been raised to improve the Elgin town centre.

A summit on the future of Moray held at Elgin Town Hall sparked debate.

It comes as work starts to assemble a new taskforce to make real change in the region’s town centres.

The ideas range from big, selfie-friendly Elgin letters to rebranding the town and region as the foodie capital of Scotland.

However, calls were also made to capitalise more on the town’s positives like the unique independent businesses, rich history, architecture and much more.

Here, we showcase some of the most interesting…

Moray’s Town Centre Summit, run by the Moray Chamber of Commerce brought people together. Image: Jason Hedges/ DC Media

Ideas to boost Elgin unveiled

Elgin BID held a session to help shape a blueprint to attract footfall and build a thriving community.

One of the questions asked there was “what are your ideas to boost footfall in Elgin?”.

The ideas included:

  • More events like the MacMoray festival which encourage people from across Scotland to come to Elgin.
  • Rebrand the region as the foodie capital of Scotland.
  • Big, selfie-friendly Elgin letters in the town centre. Aberdeen recently installed letters in the city which has sparked a lot of interest.
  • A food court.
  • To have more places for people to do things like arcades.
  • Increasing the night-time economy.
  • South Street courtyard.
South Street in Elgin.

Are pop-up shops an answer?

One idea mentioned multiple times was the concept of having pop-up shops in vacant units in Elgin.

One of the speakers at the event, Midsteeple Quarter Executive director Scott Mackay, talked to the crowd about his initiative to rent out three vacant properties in Dumfries to start-ups for £25 per day which has been a success.

Elgin Bid delivers a workshop. Image: Jason Hedges/ DC Thomson

Elgin BID office and marketing communication executive Tina Mainland believes a similar model could be replicated in Moray’s biggest town.

She said: “I see the model as an option.

“People were saying there were a lot of independent businesses, however, there aren’t enough of them – because there are not enough decent units.

“If we can get the funding to get the buildings up to standard and split them in a way it is useable then the people will come.

“We have had people coming every week on the hunt for units. Nobody is looking at the bigger ones.”

Elgin Bid’s  Tina Mainland and Angela Norrie. Images: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

She added: “Another good example is the Red Brick Market in Liverpool which was a big giant warehouse and now it is a space for little businesses to find their feet.

“We want to create a handy blueprint to show businesses wanting to come to Elgin clearly what shops and places are in demand.”

Within 12 months, she is aiming to be well on the way to taking on one property to split into different uses.

What do young people want to see in the Elgin town centre?

Meanwhile, Developing the Young Workforce in Moray held a workshop to showcase what youngsters want to see in the Elgin town centre.

The national government-funded project’s overall aim is to provide more opportunities for young people to be better prepared for the world of work, and lower youth unemployment.

Willow Searle and Sarah McMillan raised their views what is needed in the Elgin town centre.<br />Image: Jason Hedges/ DC Thomson

Willow Searle from Urquhart and Sarah McMillian from Lossiemouth both agreed there is an urgent need for more places for young people to hang out in the evenings.

At the moment, many youngsters just go to McDonalds.

Mcdonald’s in Elgin.

Miss Searle said: “The reality is many young people hang out at McDonald’s because of the cheap food and it is convenient.

“It would be great to see other places like coffee shops opening later so we can hang out with friends.”

Here are some of the suggestions:

  • Calls for more activities inside the Elgin town centre such as a climbing wall.
  • Late-night openings for cafes.
  • Scope for street food place in the former M&Co store.
  • More leisure facilities.
  • More clothes shops as some youngsters who like to shop are drawn away to Inverness and Aberdeen.
Aimee Stephen Business Liaison, Beth Pickup School Coordinator, Jolene Young Programme Manager and Samira Nicholson School Coordinator.  Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

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