Community Councils celebrate 50 years in Moray

Moray is currently represented by 17 active community councils with over 130 community councillors.

During the last 50 years, Community Councils across Scotland have made important contributions to their communities, by engaging with local people on the issues which matter to them and working to change their area for the better.

At an event to mark the milestone on Saturday 28 October the many achievements and successes of Moray’s Community Councils will be celebrated at Elgin Library from 1pm-4pm. Event organisers are asking for any memorabilia, such as photographs, newspaper articles or anything else of interest to get in touch by emailing communitycouncils@moray.gov.uk.

Moray Council’s Civic Leader, Cllr John Cowe, has congratulated the region’s communities for 50 years of hard work: “This anniversary gives us the ideal opportunity to recognise the contribution Moray’s Community Councils have made to the local area over the years. So many of our community heroes have been, and continue to be, stalwarts on our Community Councils.

“They represent us as at a micro-local level with everything from planning and licensing matters, to contributing to our environmental initiatives and youth projects. Some even hold the purse strings to windfarm monies that are re-invested in our communities. There really is no area of public life they aren’t involved in and I thank them all for their hard work over the last 50 years.”

The 50^th anniversary event on 28 October is open to any current and former community council members, their families and extended communities.

While the role of the Community Councils has remained much the same since 1973, the introduction of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 provided new statutory rights for Community Councils, and the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 strengthened Community Councils’ engagement with the planning system.

More information on Moray’s Community Councils can be found here.