Visit Moray Speyside has secured £45,000 from the Beatrice Community Fund to help upgrade and retain public toilets for local communities and visitors along the Moray coast.
Lossiemouth, Findhorn and Portknockie have all been awarded a significant funding flush to ensure these essential facilities continue to benefit people living in these coastal areas, as well as visitors touring the region throughout 2025.
Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) Community Fund helped support public infrastructure projects and initiatives around the Moray coast, including the community council areas of Buckie and District, Strathisla, Keith and Lennox.
BOWL operates an 84-turbine offshore wind farm set in Moray Firth.
The Beatrice Community Fund has contributed to the communities impacted from the construction of the wind farm through grant awards totalling £2M in Moray and a further £4M in Highland.
Visit Moray Speyside (VMS) is now focussing its funding award solely on keeping local public toilets open and improving the facilities for everyone.
VMS is the Destination Marketing Organisation and Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) Company for the Moray and Speyside area, which is one of just three operational Tourism BIDs in Scotland.
Gemma Cruickshank, CEO of Visit Moray Speyside, said:
“Public toilets are a vital service for local communities and visitors to the Moray Speyside region, so it’s really important that they are kept open, safe and clean for everyone all year round.
“We’re really grateful to SSE Renewables and the Beatrice Community Fund for helping us retain and upgrade the facilities in Lossiemouth, Findhorn and Portknockie, which are all tourist hotspots.”
Visit Moray Speyside’s work is focused on destination marketing for the region, attracting consumers and engaging with the international travel trade to position Moray as a world-class destination.
The organisation also supports tourism businesses in the region with training and opportunities, as well as improving the experience for visitors from inspiration to arrival and beyond.
Gemma added:
“Visit Moray Speyside is the only organisation in the world whose sole focus is on raising the profile of this incredible region and positioning Moray Speyside as the world-class destination that we all know it is.
“We continue to represent the interests of almost 400 tourism businesses spread throughout Moray.”
VMS continues to work with almost 400 tourism leisure and hospitality business members and industry partners across the region to help bring visitors to the area to boost the local economy.
Tourism in Moray Speyside is now worth a record £187m to the local economy, so VMS is committed to ensuring continued investment in public infrastructure around the region.
The Beatrice offshore wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Red Rock Power, The Renewables Infrastructure Group and Equitix.
SSE Renewables operates both the wind farm and the Community Fund on behalf of the joint venture partners.
Kirsty Partridge, SSE Community Investment Manager for the North Highlands, said:
“As a company deeply rooted in the communities we serve, we’re proud to continue to empower local groups through the SSE Renewables Community Funds.
“The funding for the public toilets along the Moray Coast is a good example of how the funding we are providing can make a difference to more remote communities who would not otherwise have these amenities.
“£6m of investment from the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm Community Funds have gone towards community projects in the Highlands and Moray to date.”
For more information on Visit Moray Speyside, go to https://morayspeyside.com
For more information on The Moray Speyside Tourism Business Improvement District, go to https://morayspeyside.com/tourismbid
For more information on the Beatrice Community Fund, go to www.beatricewind.com/funds
