On Moray Engage, 17 eligible projects have been entered into the public vote, allowing locals to help determine where the funding should be allocated.

Now in its second year, the fund supports projects with an obvious connection to Moray’s coast or sea and within 12 nautical miles of Moray’s coastline.

Nearly 9,000 votes were cast in 2025, with funding being given to projects such as accessibility enhancements at Burghead beach, upgrades at the Scottish Dolphin Centre as well as improvements to community facilities in Spey Bay and Portknockie.

Voting opened on 25 September and will run until 9 October. People can see the 17 projects and vote via Moray Engage.

Voters should select their five favourite projects for their vote to count, with each person only being permitted to vote once.

Duplicate votes and votes where five projects have not been chosen will be removed ahead of the calculation of the results.

Voters will not need to register for a Moray Engage account, and voting remains anonymous.

The five-project approach has been implemented to ensure the results reflect priorities across Moray’s communities rather than the support being limited to individual local areas.

When the vote closes, the funding will be awarded to projects in order of the number of votes attained until the allocation of the entire £100,000 has been reached.

The final project may receive partial funding if this would enable a complete part of the project to be completed within the necessary timescale.

Councillor Marc Macrae, chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee, said: “I offer my congratulations to the 17 projects now available for people to choose from this year, and I’d encourage everyone to take a few minutes to look through them and vote for the five they would most like to see supported.

“This funding is about supporting projects that make a real difference to Moray’s coastal communities, so it’s important that local people have a direct say in where the money goes.”