Good Luck Moray!

The deadline for submitting bids to the second round of the Levelling Up Fund passed on 2nd August, accompanied by a collective sigh of relief from councils (and consultants!) across the UK. Amongst them was Moray Council, who after months of hard work, submitted a bid for an £18.3 million regeneration package focused on Elgin.

We have been working with the team from Moray over the past few months to support the development of the bid – so we are biased – but we think it is a compelling proposition.

The package includes three major projects that will together deliver more than 50 new homes, a boutique hotel, community arts centre, new commercial and retail space, and an attractive urban wetland park. The projects will also reclaim Elgin city centre for pedestrians and restore the City’s much-loved Cooper Park to its former glory.

One of the most exciting aspects of the plan is its focus on reusing and restoring vacant and underutilised sites, some of which have blighted the city for more than 20 years. Making the case for investment in these kinds of sites can be difficult. They are often unsuitable for commercial development, which reduces financial returns and often face multiple constraints to development, which increases costs.

The sites in the Moray bid are no exception: flood risk, access constraints, multiple ownership, potential contamination and listed building status – they have the lot!

To overcome these challenges Moray Council got creative, reimagining difficult spaces in ways that create social as well as economic value. One site for example will be transformed into an attractive urban wetland park that will double as flood mitigation infrastructure. The park will enhance the lives of local people by providing access to high-quality green space, while simultaneously unlocking new commercial development next door.

Before and after images of Transforming the Mart project

To help make the case for investment we focused on quantifying the social value of the project. To do this we looked at two important wellbeing benefits: the value of improving access to high-quality green space and the value of reducing exposure to derelict sites

We will find out in the autumn if the Treasury is convinced. In the meantime if you want to find out more about the bid further details about the project and some great images of what it could look like are available here: https://newsroom.moray.gov.uk/news/moray-council-to-bid-for-gbp-18-million-from-the-uk-governments-levelling-up-fund