Casting vote paves the way to replace Moray bridge

Moray councillors have narrowly voted to press ahead with replacing the Cloddach road bridge near Elgin, in the process accepting a UK government offer of £1.5m towards the project.

A meeting was told community efforts to find other sources of funding had been unsuccessful, and that the authority would need to find another £2.7m to complete the project.

The bridge, which directly served only a handful of homes, has been shut to vehicles on safety grounds since 2022.

It will now proceed to a final business case on the casting vote of council leader Kathleen Robertson, after a vote on the issue was tied 12-12 with one abstention.