WHILE the spotlight on regeneration can be too often focused on the major centres of population, Scotland’s less populous regions are facing their own challenges. These can be threats to economic futures, of course, but in some cases also geographic ignorance of where they are located and what they have to offer.

In March 2009 the Moray Towns Partnership (MTP) was born, under the auspices of Moray Council’s Economic Development & Infrastructure Committee. Two reports, the 2005 Donaldson "Towns Promotion and Development" report and the Moray 2020 report, had identified four towns – Buckie, Forres, Keith, and Lossiemouth – as playing a role in the area’s economy and showed that they had a role in complementing Elgin, the largest town in Moray.

The idea behind the MTP was to create something of a mini-city region between Aberdeen and Inverness. That meant investment in the individual towns that played their constituent parts and looking at how they could work together to develop the identity of Moray.

The aims were to develop the economy of the four towns as well as promoting them as tourism and retail destinations. There was also the aim of bringing these towns together to look at how they could help one another by exchanging ideas and solutions. There would be also be support and guidance in the promotion and delivery of initiatives. In 2015 and 2016 the four towns, along with Elgin, attended VisitScotland Expo together, and will be doing so again in 2017.

Laurie Piper of Moray Speyside Tourism has already seen the economic benefit of that collaborative working.

"Moray has punched under its weight traditionally," he says, "so bringing the towns together to work collectively can only make the area stronger and offer a better visitor experience. Moray Speyside Tourism came into being in 2014; since then we have seen the value of tourism in the area increase by more than £11 million, from £94m in 2014 to £105.7m just two years later. The aim is to double that initial figure by 2025."

The five towns that form the MTP have distinct characters and histories but like any 21st century towns are reassessing and redeveloping their offerings.

"There was a realisation that working in isolation produces a lot of duplication," says Reni Milburn of Economic Development at Moray Council. "There had been some exploration of working together but the MTP was able to facilitate events like joint hosting at VisitScotland Expo, where they could not only represent their own towns, but the whole of Moray."

Elgin is Moray’s small city and its long history as a market town with much of its medieval street plan intact was a solid base for the new Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere interpretative town trail due to open later this year with a full launch planned for next year’s tourist season.

With tourism and retail the dual backbone of the town’s offering, securing WorldHost Destination Status earlier this year was a great achievement. The accolade recognises high quality customer service across the businesses that have signed up to the scheme.

Forres is also well on its way to being a WorldHost Destination, reflecting the importance of customer service to businesses in the area. The Forres area was also a recipient of a 2015 Creative Places Award, helping to facilitate the Findhorn Bay Festival that begins on Wednesday.

But if anywhere can lay claim to being Moray’s arts and culture heart, it’s Keith, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of its annual Traditional Music and Song Association Festival in 2015.

Moray also has a deep connection with the sea. Buckie still has a working harbour and, although it can offer visitors facilities such as free Wi-fi, it has the natural advantages that attract outdoors enthusiasts, including dolphin and seal spotting and trail walks.

"Visiting the VisitScotland Expo has been useful," he says. "Perhaps if people were challenged before to point us out on a map they would have struggled. Also, when it comes to what we have to offer, people will relate Speyside to whisky but not realise Speyside is part of Moray."

Although visitor numbers to the area were healthy last year at 700,000 Laurie Piper is confident that can grow.

He points out: "Moray Speyside offers tourists from near and far the chance to experience the very best that Scotland has to offer – working together across the region means we’re able to provide our visitors with an even better experience." 

Lossiemouth is the sum of all its parts

RESIDENTS of Lossiemouth are aware in many people’s minds its name is preceded by "RAF".While it’s true the base is fundamental to the economy, there are moves to bolster the town’s natural gifts – it is built around a harbour with beautiful beaches to the east and west – with a greater offering for visitors.

The fishing industry may be in decline with leisure boats using the facilities now, but there are moves at local level to complement and take full advantage of Lossiemouth’s membership of the Four Towns partnership.

Local Stuart Crowther says: "Lossiemouth is very much a tourism destination, but we need to have so much more for visitors than simply the natural beauty. There is also a need for more hotel accommodation to keep people here longer."

Two recent successes are the Covesea Lighthouse, now under the ownership of the local community and a microbrewery at the Windswept Brewing Co.

Crowther is part of the Lossiemouth Community Development Trust. "That has been instrumental in bringing groups together. For example we have facilitated a sports hub that has been easier to fund through us rather than individual groups."

The perfect backdrop for showcasing talent

THE economic importance of culture across Scotland’s economy as a whole is substantial but harnessing the pulling power of the arts needs to be done in a sensitive, site-specific way. This Wednesday sees the opening of the six-day Findhorn Bay Festival, a prime example of an event that balances the power of the local with the draw of the global, making full use of its backdrop.

"The Findhorn Bay area of Moray provides an inspiring backdrop of beautiful pine woodlands, miles of sandy beaches, and historic coastal villages," says Festival Director Kresanna Aigner. "It is also home to many talented artists."

Referring to the award of £100,000 received by the community of Forres Area as a winner of the 2015 Creative Place Awards, Aigner says the showcase of artists will combine what the area already has to offer with international talent keen to showcase their work against the Moray backdrop.

The Findhorn Bay Festival encompasses music, theatre, dance, and visual art as well as many free events such as the annual community event Culture Day Forres. It’s a biennial event, this year celebrating Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, with a programme of events, exhibitions, talks, and tours in unexpected spaces and scenic locations.

www.findhornbayfestival.com

Elgin’s past is helping to create a bright future

BY the end of 2016 Elgin will offer one Scotland’s most exciting and innovative town trails, taking locals and visitors from "Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere".

Covering 1,000 years and winding through historic streets, it delivers Elgin’s fascinating history with information on site and a variety of virtual channels to enhance the experience.

The Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere initiative is the result of an extensive partnership, which commissioned the Conservation Area Appraisal, Management and Action Plans and the Heritage Trail Interpretive Plan. This combined local and national, public and private and resulted in investment of more than £3.6 million through the Town Centre Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) & Heritage Experience.

"The benefit of stakeholders coming together was not just financial but also bringing together expertise," says Reni Milburn of Economic Development at Moray Council. "The CARS scheme has had a wider effect too. The grants for building repair and shopfront improvement have led to apprenticeships in trades to facilitate that. We needed something to dovetail with that, however, and that has been a calendar of events. The Sword, Fire and Stone weekend in August was incredibly popular."

Milburn says this combination of events, the regeneration of the town and mobile technology such as the www.elginheritage.scot website will make Elgin’s past an important part of the future.