The design has been influenced by the community response to a consultation held earlier this year. A further period of consultation on the finalised design is open online between 14-30 November.

An exhibition of the plans takes place on 17 November in Forres Community Centre between 2.30pm-7.30pm. The drop-in event will allow the community to see what updates have been made with their feedback and make comments in-person on the potential for the park. Council officers from Open Spaces, Community Support Unit and the design team from consultants, Rankin Fraser, will be available for residents to chat with.

Featured in the vision are wildflower meadows, natural play, seating areas and tree planting. A separate project focussing on the upgrading of the play park area is currently working with schools to gather feedback from children in the area.

Funding from developer obligations allowed Moray Council to bring in consultants to work with the community on designing a plan the steering group can progress over time. The steering group is made up with local community representatives from Forres Area Forum and local residents.

Open space manager, James Hunter, said: “The community have been fantastically enthusiastic about this project and it’s great to see so many of them engaged with the process. Our aim is to help the community have a workable vision for the future of the park that they can help deliver and have a sense of ownership over.

“In the meantime, we will prioritise and focus on the play area upgrading and renewal in collaboration with the local community, which means we’ll see real transformation for our younger residents to enjoy”.

A £400 community benefit award has been given to the Forres Area Forum for the steering group to allocate as it sees fit.