Moray Council's Christmas and New Year service arrangements 2024/25

All council offices closed

Tuesday 24 December at 3pm until Friday 3 January 2024 at 8.45am.

Emergency council services

Over the holiday period the emergency out-of-hours service will operate as normal on 03457 565656 for all council services, including matters of child protection.

You can make payments, report non-emergency faults and submit certain requests at www.moray.gov.uk.

Any disruption will be shared on our service status portal.

Housing Emergency Repairs

Over the holiday period the emergency out-of-hours service can be called at any time to report a council housing emergency repair on 03457 565656. Further guidance on emergency housing repairs can be found online.

Homelessness

Anyone experiencing homelessness with no other accommodation available can contact the housing team on 03457 565656.

Roads maintenance

Emergency road, footpath, drainage defects, lighting faults and winter gritting will be covered throughout the festive period. Winter maintenance information is available online.

Schools and education

All schools and council nurseries close on Friday 20 December and reopen on Monday 6 January 2024. Any queries during this time can be sent to education@moray.gov.uk but may not be responded to immediately.

Sports & Leisure Facilities

Buckie Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre; Forres Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre; Keith Sports & Community Centre; Lossiemouth Sports & Community Centre; Speyside Sports & Community Centre:

Monday 23 December: normal timetable

Tuesday 24 December: holiday timetable

Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 December: closed

Friday 27 December until Monday 30 December: holiday timetable

Tuesday 31 December until Thursday 2 January 2025: closed

Normal timetable restarts on Friday 3 January 2025 with swimming lessons starting from Monday 6 January 2025.

Forres House Community Centre; Milne’s Fitness Suite, Fochabers; Elgin High Sports Centre:

Tuesday 24 December until Thursday 2 January 2025: closed

Normal timetable restarts on Friday 3 January 2025.

Football pitches and pavilions

Monday 23 December 2024 until Sunday 5 January 2025: closed.

Libraries

Monday 23 December: all libraries normal opening hours.

Tuesday 24 December: Buckie, Elgin, Forres & Keith – 10am- 3pm (early closing).

Dufftown – normal opening hours (10am-12pm).

Aberlour, Burghead, Cullen, Lossiemouth, Milne’s and Tomintoul – Closed.

Wednesday 25 & Thursday 26 December: all libraries closed

Friday 27 to Monday 30 December: all libraries normal opening hours.

Tuesday 31 December to Thursday 2 January 2025: all libraries closed.

All libraries return to normal opening times on Friday 3 January 2023.

m.connect

m.connect services can continue to be booked via the app throughout the festive period, visit moray.gov.uk/mconnect for more information.

Tuesday 24 December: normal service

Wednesday 25 December: no service

Thursday 26 December: no service
Friday 27 December: normal service
Monday 30 December: normal service

Tuesday 31 December: no service
Wednesday 1 January: no service

Thursday 2 January: no service

Friday 3 January: normal service resumes

Car parks

St Giles and Batchen Lane multi-storey car park

Closed: Tuesday 24 December at 7pm until Thursday 26 December at 9am; Tuesday 31 December at 7pm until Thursday 2 January at 9am.

Alternative street level parking is available.

Registrars

Elgin Office closed: Tuesday 24 December at 3pm until 8.45am on Friday 3 January.

Open: Strictly by appointment, Friday 27 and Monday 30 December for death registration only.

Should a registrar require to be contacted urgently, please call 07350 433459 or 07350 433413.

Refuse and recycling

Green and recycling bin collections will continue three-weekly, with no collections on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 December 2024 or Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 January 2025. Alternative collection dates for these are set out below – please note some of these are earlier than normal collection days. Collections may be carried out earlier than normal, please have all bins at their usual collection point by 7.30am. If there's any disruption to these collections, we'll post this on our service portal and set out when we'll return.

There will be no brown bin collections from Monday 23 December for two weeks. Collections restart on Monday 6 January 2025.

Real Christmas trees can be put out alongside your brown bin from Monday 6 January and will be uplifted without the need for a garden waste permit.

Area/Route No	Normal Collection Day	Revised Collection Day
Elgin (R3) Dyke/Brodie area (R78)	Wednesday 25 December	Monday 23 December
Kingston area (R23) Lossiemouth (R68)	Wednesday 25 December	Tuesday 24 December
Keith (R83)	Wednesday 25 December	Friday 27 December
Fochabers (R24)	Thursday 26 December	Friday 27 December
Elgin (R9) Keith (R84) Rafford/Dallas area (R79)	Thursday 26 December	Saturday 28 December

Area/Route No	Normal Collection Day	Revised Collection Day
Lossiemouth (R18)	Wednesday 1 January	Monday 30 December
Speybay area (R22)	Wednesday 1 January	Friday 3 January
Elgin (R98) Grange area (R108)	Wednesday 1 January	Tuesday 31 December
Forres (R74)	Thursday 2 January	Monday 30 December
Craigellachie/Rothes (R14)	Thursday 2 January	Friday 3 January
Lintmill/Deskford area (R59) Elgin (R69)	Thursday 2 January	Saturday 4 January
Forres (R73)	Wednesday 1 January	Saturday 4 January

The special collection and waste hotline will be closed from 3pm on Tuesday 24 December until 9am Friday 3 January.

Recycling centres

Please note from Monday 16 December until Monday 6 January 2025 we can't accept wood, metal and rubble at recycling centres.

Closed: 23, 24, 25, 26, 30 & 31 December 2024 and 1 & 2 January 2025.

Bookings are still required for Chanonry Recycling Centre, Elgin, and can be made up to one hour before the time slot where there is availability.

Public conveniences

Closed:  25 & 26 December 2024 and 1 & 2 January 2024.

Scottish Welfare Fund

Scottish Welfare Fund will close Tuesday 24 December at 3pm until Friday 27 December.

A skeleton Crisis Grant service will be provided on 27 December and Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December.

Applications can be made online at www.moray.gov.uk/scottishwelfarefund or by phoning 03457 565 656.

The service will close at 4pm on Tuesday 31 December, re-opening at 8:45am on Friday 3 January 2025.

Care at Home service

The Care at Home service will continue to operate as normal throughout the holiday period and office-based support teams will be available.

Anyone who will be away from home over the festive period is reminded to inform the service about any care visits that need to be cancelled. Please give as much advance notice as possible to help the service manage its scheduling effectively.

Adult Social Care, Children and Families and Justice services

Duty social work arrangements will be in place for all services during the festive period.

Enquiries and concerns can be directed to:

• Adult Access Team: 01343 563999 or accesscareteam@moray.gov.uk
• Children and Families Access Team: 01343 554370 or childrensaccessteam@moray.gov.uk
• Justice Services: 01343 557200 or justice@moray.gov.uk

For urgent support when council offices are closed and on public holidays, Moray Council emergency out-of-hours service can be contacted on 03457 565656.