Casting vote paves the way to replace Moray bridge

Cloddach bridge has been shut to traffic since 2022

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.