Elgin’s Sole Shopping Centre Faces Closure Amidst £750,000 Business Rates Dispute with Moray Council

Elgin’s only shopping centre is at risk of closure following Moray Council’s announcement of legal action to recover hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid business rates. The proprietors of the St Giles Centre, located on Elgin’s High Street, are estimated to owe the local authority approximately £750,000 in charges that have accumulated over several years. A council spokesperson indicated that it had “exhausted all reasonable avenues of support” and that it was their duty to retrieve the “significant sum of arrears”. Local councillors stated that the potential closure of the centre would constitute a “devastating blow for Elgin”. The St Giles Centre, which has been operational for 33 years, currently hosts Argos, Waterstones, WH Smith, EE, Vodafone, Ramsdens, Subway, and Ashers Bakery. Whisky specialists Gordon and Macphail are temporarily leasing a unit there until renovations on their South Street building are finished. The rear of the building also accommodates Elgin bus station. However, the mall has encountered difficulties in recent years, resulting in several empty units after a number of major retailers, including Monsoon, Mountain Warehouse, and Superdrug, departed. Councillor Marc Macrae, chairman of the council’s economic development and infrastructure committee, remarked: “It must be frustrating for other businesses that are paying their non-domestic rates to know that a fairly large one is not paying theirs.“This has been going on over a number of years, and the council has been working with the centre so payments were affordable to them.“But this is significant arrears and the council has a duty to be equitable,” the Conservative councillor added. Non-domestic rates, also referred to as business rates, are a property tax designed to help fund local council services. The Scottish government establishes these rates, and councils are responsible for collecting them. Councillors discussed the recovery of the money in October during a meeting conducted behind closed doors. A motion to defer the pursuit of the debt until after Christmas was defeated by 15 votes to 5, with one abstention. Jérémie Fernandes, SNP councillor for North Elgin, expressed his “disappointment” with the council’s decision to recover the funds before Christmas. He commented: “A closure of St Giles Centre, with potential job losses, would be a devastating blow for Elgin, particularly at a time when investment is finally coming to the town centre.” A Moray Council spokesperson reiterated that the council had “exhausted all reasonable avenues of support” in its efforts to recover the unpaid non-domestic rates. They stated: “We appreciate the financial position of the building owner and landlord creates uncertainty regarding the centre and remain committed to supporting businesses to continue to trade in a suitable location locally.” St Giles Centre Holdings Ltd has been contacted for comment. Further reporting was contributed by Local Democracy Service Reporter Hazel Lawson.