Former Keith council office building to be marketed

A landmark building which formerly served as the local council offices in Keith was officially declared surplus to requirements today.

The Institute in Mid Street will now be actively marketed in the hope that a new purpose can be found for it.

Moray councillors were told that the building no longer had any strategic operational use by the council and there had been no community interest in taking it over.

Plans to spend £166,000 on repairs to make it a more attractive proposition for potential future use have now been abandoned.

The Institute – which had housed council offices for many years – was closed in 2012 because of its deteriorating condition.

Efforts were made along with the Keith and Strathisla Regeneration Partnership to find a use for the building and last year the possibility emerged of £90,000 of funding being made available from the Keith conservation area regeneration scheme, with Moray Council meeting the balance of £76,000.

However, the offer of £90,000 was withdrawn when the proposal was referred to Historic Environment Scotland which concluded that the investment could not be justified in view of the fact that no long-term use had been identified for the building.

A report to today’s meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee said the £76,000 of council money earmarked for repairs was insufficient to make a significant difference to the building.

It was agreed that any repairs would only be undertaken to keep the building safe and wind and water tight and that it would be actively marketed and that the council would consider all potential options for its future.

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.