THE FUTURE OF the Elgin Museum could be decided next week when a refreshed bid for funding will be considered by a council committee.
Supporters of a museum that has existed in the town since 1843 were stunned in June when a decision on a grant funding bid of £44,500 spread over the next three years was delayed.
Councillors criticised the business plan prepared by the Moray Society that is aimed to develop the museum into a four-star accredited attraction. The plan is directed at increasing the number of visitors the museum attracts – and was expected to be welcomed by councillors as the local authority sought to promote tourism in the region.
However, councillors said that they wished to see further information and deferred any decision – so now the plan will return to the economic development and infrastructure services committee a week today.
The museum is independently run by the Moray Society for whom volunteers have been busy working on the business plan with the assistance of council officers with the aim of their resubmitted business plan being as “robust as possible”.
“One of our volunteers has been in close negotiations with the council to make sure our case gives them exactly the information they want,” the society’s vice-chair Janet Trythall said, adding: “We can only be optimistic that it will be approved.
“Our numbers over this summer are up – which shows that we have a lot to offer, and although we are based in Elgin we serve the whole of Moray.
“We like to think that we play a part in bringing visitors to the town and from there they can explore other parts of the region.”