No regeneration scheme for Forres conservation area

Plans for a conservation area regeneration scheme for Forres have been abandoned.

Moray councillors agreed with a recommendation from officers that the project was not affordable in the council’s current financial situation.

A report said that in common with many town centres, Forres required investment to reverse the decline it was currently experiencing.

The council has already run successful conservation area regeneration schemes in Keith and Elgin in conjunction with Historic Environment Scotland.

A new round of bidding opened last month which would have given the council an opportunity to apply for funding for a Forres scheme and a business case was submitted to the council’s asset management working group.

The report said: “The working group reviewed the business case and although this was seen as a worthwhile project that supports the priorities of the council, the financial constraints facing the council mean the only recommendation that could be made is that this project should not be progressed.

“To do otherwise would further extend the council’s capital and revenue commitments at a time when both must be reduced.”

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.