MBLA Design appointed to deliver Cooper Park Masterplan

The Masterplan provides a clear framework to guide future investment by the Elgin Neighbourhood Board, ensuring Cooper Park continues to be a vibrant and inclusive space at the heart of Elgin. This investment will sit alongside projects already being delivered through the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) and the Moray Growth Deal (MGD), together representing a major package of improvements for the park and surrounding area.

Working closely with the Elgin Neighbourhood Board, MBLA will progress work to:

• Produce a Masterplan for Cooper Park, showing proposed facilities, landscaping, paths, lighting, and signage.
• Create visuals to help visualise the park’s transformation.
• Prepare a phased delivery plan, with clear costs, that looks for ways to share costs, avoid duplication, and align the works with the wider Moray Growth Deal and Levelling Up Fund projects.
• Undertake a feasibility study for the parks Pavilion.
• Identify suitable sites for potential new facilities including pump track, bouldering, multi-use games areas (MUGAs), and enhanced play spaces.
• Enhance biodiversity and resilience to climate change through soft landscaping and natural flood management measures.

The Masterplan supports further community engagement, ensuring that the voices of local people help shape the park’s future.

These proposals will complement investment already underway. LUF-funded upgrades to the pond and toilet block are progressing separately. Meanwhile, the Moray Growth Deal is supporting the redevelopment of Elgin Town Hall and the restoration of Grant Lodge, ensuring the park is fully integrated with wider cultural and community developments in Elgin.

Moray Council leader, Councillor Kathleen Robertson, said: “This is another important step in delivering the investment Elgin needs. Cooper Park has the potential to become a true hub for leisure, culture and community life, and by planning its future carefully we can make sure improvements complement the major projects already underway through the Levelling Up Fund and Moray Growth Deal. Together, these investments will transform the heart of Elgin for generations to come.”

Chair of the Elgin Neighbourhood Board, Jenny Urquhart, added: “Cooper Park is Elgin’s largest green space and an important asset for the whole community. This Masterplan will help us reimagine what the park can offer, ensuring it supports healthy, active lifestyles while protecting its character and biodiversity for future generations. We are delighted to have MBLA on board to lead this exciting project, which will guide the Elgin Neighbourhood Board’s investment in the park.”

Matt Benians, director of MBLA, said:  “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to be involved in the future of Cooper Park on behalf of Moray Council and the community.  Gifted to the town by Colonel Cooper along with Grant Lodge,, the park was laid out at the beginning of the 1900’s. I’m looking forward to the design engagement process, learning along with local residents and stakeholders about their appreciation and aspirations for the park to develop proposals for the park, making it fit for the 21st century, while respecting its history.”

The Cooper Park Masterplan will be completed by Spring 2026 and will form the foundation for a rolling programme of works, aligned with the wider programme of investment being delivered through the Elgin Neighbourhood Board, the Levelling Up Fund and the Moray Growth Deal.