CHRISTMAS IN ELGIN will be a much brighter affair from this year after a local Trust confirmed that a £50,000 investment in new lights will be in place by November.
The Elgin Town Centre Benevolent Trust says that work on replacing the old lights which began last year is almost complete – with new energy-efficient replacements planned for this year.
A fundraising campaign resulted in sufficient funding to purchase the new lights for the entire town centre, with the Trust chairman, Stewart Halkett, saying: “The new lights will be brighter and more energy efficient – and as they are all the same style they will look much better visually.
“The more attractive new lights will hopefully encourage more people into the town centre – and into local shops.”
Funding for the project included £3000 from Elgin Rotary and £16,100 from the Elgin common good fund, while another £10,000 came from the National Lottery’s ‘Awards for All’ scheme. Other local businesses pitched in with £2000 from Johnstons of Elgin and a pledge of over £3000 from the Robertson Group.
Elgin Community Council also donated £500 to the project, with Chairman Alistair Kennedy saying that the old decorations had “been looking a bit tired”. He added: “I think people will enjoy having a single theme throughout the town centre and hopefully that will bring folk into the centre of town.”