Elgin Town Hall Transformation (Moray Growth Deal)

Elgin’s first Film Festival brought four days of award winning cinema, local talent, workshops, family activities and outdoor screenings in February. It opened with an outdoor showing of archive footage projected onto St Giles Church. Supported by Film Hub Scotland and delivered with the Spotlight programme and Elgin Town Hall for the Community, events took place across venues including Elgin Community Centre with over 240 people attending.

As Elgin Town Hall undergoes major redevelopment through the Moray Growth Deal, the festival offered a glimpse of the vibrant cultural life the venue will host when it reopens in 2027.

Site Update: Car Park & Main Building Works notification

• Car Park Compound
  The compound area is fully cordoned off for the delivery of office and welfare units and hoarding over December. A link path has been installed to allow car park users to exit via the south side. Expect several HGV deliveries to both the car park and the north side of the building.
• Main Site Area
  Footpaths on the west side of A941 and south side of Trinity Place will be closed for the installation of long-term hoarding.
• Lossie Green Car Park
  Delivery of the Site Offices and Welfare Facilities are currently underway.
  Delivery of concrete ballast blocks has taken place to begin hoarding around the main building site and office compound.
• Utilities & Services
  SSE is installing the power supply cable for site offices this week. Directional drilling under Trinity Place will connect services—this method avoids traffic disruption.

In October 2025, Taylor and Fraser Ltd. were announced as the main contractor for works to transform Elgin Town Hall. Specialists in refurbishment and conservation, mechanical and electrical, their experience includes Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Citizens Theatre and Dumfries House.

Construction director, Angus MacInnes, said: “It is a significant element of the ‘Cultural Quarter’ project, with the building set to play a pivotal role within the community in the future. We look forward to working with Moray Council and the wider project team in creating a modern and highly functional space for the people of Elgin, while maintaining the heritage and integrity of the building.”

Elgin Town Hall is a key site within the Cultural Quarter project, part of Moray’s £100 million Growth Deal. .

The last few months have been focused on the appointment of a main contractor for the works at Elgin Town Hall, with enabling works progressing steadily alongside this.

In September 2025, SSEN completed excavation of cabling on the A96 side of Elgin Town Hall, preparing the site for the redevelopment and extension. Following the successful completion of these works, our major transformation began in October 2025.

Elgin Town Hall for the Community has now temporarily relocated to the nearby Community Centre and continue to offer vital services to groups and audiences from across Moray. They’re now fully operational with a new bar, events space, and an exciting programme of upcoming events! 📞 For room bookings: enquiries@elgintownhall.co.uk | 01343 619900

To date, over 600 people have engaged with us about the Cultural Quarter project to help develop the project vision and design. This has included Tourism/Travel trade workshops and events and Raising awareness talks with local community groups. Public consultations about the transformation of Elgin Town Hall have included:

2023

• February - Elgin Men's Shed
• February - Development workshop at Elgin Town Hall
• February - Development workshop at Elgin Museum
• June - Delivery plan workshop at Elgin Library
• September - Doors Open Day 2023

2024

• February - Elgin Rotary Club
• June - Elgin Motorfun event
• August - Community engagement at Elgin Town Hall
• September - Doors Open Day 2024
• October - Design update for Sector Partners
• October - Chamber of Commerce

2025

• February - Tourist trade workshop
• June - Elgin Motorfun event
• June - Elgin Community Council

Further engagement will continue as the project progresses.

The Cultural Quarter is always keen to engage with young people at every opportunity to obtain their views and opinions on the plans for the Grant Lodge redevelopment and how it will benefit them either through learning and education or work and apprenticeship opportunities.

Once such opportunity was at the Developing the Young Workforce Careers Fair in 2024 where we were able to attend 7 local high schools in Moray. Speaking to around 150 pupils of all ages across the schools we were able to inspire the next generation with information on future career opportunities in culture and heritage that they may have not previously considered.

Together we are coordinating with other regeneration programmes such as the Levelling Up Fund and the Elgin Neighbourhood Board to transform the region’s economy, infrastructure, and communities.

Did you know we have a dedicated working group for Phase 2 of the Cultural Quarter? This team brings expertise from across Moray’s Tourism, Creative Arts, Heritage, and Food & Drink sectors, offering strategic insights and advice to shape the project.