Process for Nairn Town Centre Funding to be agreed at special Council meeting

Members of The Highland Council’s Nairnshire Committee have agreed to provisionally award £28,052 Town Centre Fund Grant to Nairn BID.

Nairn BID are to develop a project in consultation with stakeholders - the detail of which will be brought back in early 2021 for consideration by Councillors at a special meeting of the Nairnshire Committee. 

Chair of the Nairnshire Committee, Cllr Tom Heggie explained: “Members have agreed to provisionally award the Town Centre Funding allocation for Nairn to Nairn BID as their remit aligns with the objectives of the TCF. They will be expected to develop an eligible project or projects that meet TCF criteria and to carry out appropriate stakeholder engagement.”

This course of action approved by Nairn Members follows the announcement made on 4 November at the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee - that extra funding was been made available from Scottish Government to boost town centres across the region. It was agreed that decisions on spend would be taken at area committee level of which Nairn has been allocated a grant of £28,052 to invest.

Councillor Heggie welcomed the grant allocation for Nairn, he said: “The partnership approach with Nairn BID will utilise the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Fund and help support Nairn’s economic recovery and regeneration from the impacts of COVID-19.”

He added: “Nairn Councillors are looking forward to discussing Nairn BID’s final proposals at the special meeting in the New Year on how it will support investment and confidence in the community.”

As decided by the Scottish Government, the grant must be for physical projects which means only certain types of projects can be funded. For example, the spending must be of a “one-off” nature and result in the construction or improvement of an asset such as a building or an area of land.