Campaigners fighting to restore access to a Moray beach have been boosted by the possibility they may get a £200,000 cash injection.
Fears have been raised that Lossiemouth is in the grips of an “emergency” situation following the closure of the town’s crossing to the East Beach.
The current bridge has been deemed too expensive to repair, and this week it was revealed it could be next autumn before a new one is built – but only if funding is secured soon.
Now the Lossiemouth Community Development Trust, which has been campaigning for a new bridge for several years, has revealed that it has held discussions with Highlands and Islands Enterprise that could lead to a £200,000 boost to fundraising efforts.
However, the agency has warned its financial support is dependent on the proposal that may emerge in the future.
News of the potential boost comes after it emerged the campaigners will not get any backing from Moray’s £65million growth deal.
Rab Forbes, chairman of the trust’s bridge committee, said: “HIE has said they won’t give money to anybody who doesn’t own the land and the bridge.
“The trust could take on the new bridge but it would end up with a whole lot of liability issues if somebody falls off of it, hurts themselves or anything else. We’re fairly confident those problems can be overcome with insurance.
“In a perfect world Moray Council would be the ones to take on a new bridge, but that’s probably not going to happen.”
The trust has already secured about £70,000 worth of support and has warned it needs to secure large investments in order to fulfill its goals – while stressing it needs clarity about whether the UK or Scottish governments will be able to offer any backing.
A HIE spokesman said: “The East Beach bridge is an important asset for local tourism and it’s disappointing to see it closed.
“We are in contact with the Lossiemouth Development Trust and advised that there may be scope for us to provide some form of support, depending on the proposal that comes forward.”
Concerns have been raised that a prolonged period without access to the beach could have a devastating effect on businesses in the town.
Confusion over who is responsible for the bridge, which currently does not have an owner, has dogged attempts to fund repairs to it in recent years.
Mr Forbes has ruled out the group taking over the existing structure currently due to the vast repairs required.
Meanwhile, a public poll – which more than 1,000 people responded to – has revealed 65% back building a new bridge at the Esplanade, rather than repairing the existing structure or rebuilding it in the same spot.
The project, which would cost £500,000, was the cheapest of the three presented and would lead to access to the East Beach being restored to the site of a previous bridge, which was removed more than a century ago to allow fishing boats better access to the Seatown.