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Moray Council to spend up to £30,000 on repairs to Forres Mercat Cross


By Garry McCartney

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Cllr Alexander is hopeful the repairs will be complete by next Spring.
Cllr Alexander is hopeful the repairs will be complete by next Spring.

A MONUMENT at the centre of Forres that has been fenced off since last July is finally to be repaired.

Moray Council has agreed to spend up to £30,000 on fixing masonry at the Mercat Cross, using part of the Scottish Government's allocation of £443,000 to the local authority from the national Town Centre Fund.

Councillor George Alexander (Forres, Independent) was instrumental in persuading his fellow councillors to agree to the work.

He said: "I am delighted that this renovation will be carried out and the Cross will be an added attraction in the town centre. £30,000 is more than enough to cover a complete renovation as required by the detailed survey."

Last July, passer-by Kirsty Turnbull told Moray Council that part of the Cross had broken off and was balanced precariously on part of the structure above the High Street. The miniature version of Sir Walter Scott's Monument in Edinburgh, built by Thomas Mackenzie in1844, was fenced off two days later and the damage was inspected.

Cllr Alexander had sought an estimate for necessary repair work, prior to the mishap. At that time, contractors quoted around £12,000 and it was hoped that they would complete the repairs within months. However, the project was put on hold.

Last month, the Scottish Government announced further investment into capital regeneration as part of a wider economic recovery stimulus package. The Executive agreed with COSLA and local authority leaders that a total of £18million will be provided to councils through the Town Centre Fund.

Under the Town Centre Fund 2019 to 2020, it was previously agreed to restore the Mercat Cross with £11,580. However, it was not possible to carry out the work as it became apparent that there was an urgent need to arrest stone decay which has resulted in the loss of carved architectural detail - this would require more funding.

As the monument is a focal point on the High Street and no other funding sources were available for the repair, £30,000 from the Town Centre Fund 2020 to 2021 was allocated instead.

Cllr Aaron McLean (Forres, SNP) confirmed council officers told the last full council meeting that resources are scarce and to make sure the end of November deadline was met.

He added: "Tory councillors wanted to remove the Cross funding and do a full consultation. Cllr Alexander proposed the recommendations as written - I was happy to vote with him but surprisingly our local Conservative councillor and her colleagues voted against it.

"However, the work will take place now. The Cross has been fenced-off for too long and I'm happy that it will be restored."

Cllr Alexander confirmed the vote was close-run.

He said: "The Conservative group tabled a motion that threatened the prospect of Moray Council staff having the capacity to process this considerable subsidy from the Scottish Government.

"I moved that the recommendations be approved as written, because I feared that the proposal by the leader of the Conservative group was opening up a Pandora’s box which threatened the council’s capacity to take advantage of this tranche of funding and the possibility of Moray losing out on a substantial government funding opportunity.

"In the end, the councillors voted in such a way that the Mercat Cross will soon be returned to its former glory.

"Due to contractor’s other commitments it is unlikely that the work will start before New Year but it will be done before the end of the financial year."



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