Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland visits Forres to meet local organisations and businesses
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MORAY’S MP was “delighted” to welcome the UK’s Scotland Office Minister to Forres.
John Lamont MP visited Douglas Ross’ constituency office on High Street as a base to meet local organisations and businesses, while finding out more about local UK Government investment.
The pair were joined by general election candidate for the new Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey seat, Forres ward councillor and Moray Council leader, Kathleen Robertson.
Mr Ross thought Mr Lomont’s visit was “positive and constructive”.
He said: “It was great to hear directly from organisations benefiting from UK funding.”
Their visits started at Forres Town Hall where they met with Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) to hear about how £300,000 Community Ownership Funding is helping with the building’s regeneration project.
The trio then headed to Mosset Park, where Forres Mechanics FC were awarded £53,950 to install floodlights as part of a commitment from the UK Government to invest in grassroot sports.
Then the party moved on to aerospace company Orbex at Forres Enterprise Park - the firm secured over £6million in 2021 from the European Space Agency to help develop plans for rocket launches from Sutherland Spaceport.
The day ended with a meeting with Moray Council, the Moray Chamber of Commerce, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to find out about challenges each organisation is facing and how the UK Government can help support their funding priorities.
Mr Lamont said: “The UK Government is committed to levelling up all parts of our United Kingdom.
“We’ve shown that through investment in communities like Forres.
“The plans to regenerate Forres Town Hall are exciting.
“We always want to do more to encourage people into grassroots sports. “It was also good to visit Orbex and hear about their ambitious plans.
“I’ve come away with a whole host of ideas as to how the UK Government can help meet challenges.”
Mrs Robertson finished: “Investment from the UK Government in recent months has been a real shot in the arm for the local economy.
“Getting the opportunity to discuss with a UK Government minister directly about the challenges we face as a local council to support local people and communities was extremely helpful.”
