A Moray company has stepped in to help with the clean-up costs at Leanchoil.

Macgregor Industrial Supplies have donated all the personal protective clothing needed for volunteers assisting with clearing work at the former hospital.

Accepting the delivery of hard hats, gloves, face masks and hi-vis vests from Macgregor’s Senior Team Leader, Fiona Laing, Leanchoil Trust’s volunteer coordinator, Michelle Gillibrand said the donation was timely.

Michelle Gillibrand, our volunteer coordinator (left) and Fiona Laing (right) of Macgregors Industrial Supplies

“This is a wonderful gesture,” she said.

“The Trust has a duty of care toward all those who volunteer to help us, and having the support and guidance from such a well-known professional company that specialises in PPE has been so welcome.

“We can now proceed with our first clean-up day on August 23rd knowing those giving their time and energy will be properly protected.”

Macgregor Industrial Supplies, which has branches across Scotland, provides a huge range of supplies to local industries, including construction, agriculture, cleaning, hospitality and ground care.

The offer of support to Leanchoil Trust came as part of the firm’s charitable activities. It has previously supported local causes such as Highland Hospice, Mikeysline and Cash for Kids- Mission Christmas.

Fiona Laing said: “We are delighted to help this important project in any way we can. 

“The company encourages our employees to take an active role in charitable efforts, whether by joining the firm’s Charity Committee, organising events, or simply supporting fundraising initiatives. 

“At MacGregor Industrial Supplies, we take pride in fostering a culture of giving back and making a lasting impact in our communities.”

Chair of Leanchoil Trust, Marianne Nicolson, thanked Macgregor’s for their donation.

“When we are given such valuable support by local companies such as this, it’s a great personal boost to those that have been working to get to the stage we are at but, more so, it sends a strong signal beyond our borders that our community is behind us.”

Dear Leanchoil Members,

Progress with the Leanchoil project is continuing apace.

Following purchase of the site from NHS Grampian in March, Leanchoil Trust (LT) advertised nationally to secure applications from Design Teams to deliver on the refurbishment of the main building. LDN architects (Inverness) were successful and have already been on site to further their plans in close consultation with the LT Buildings subgroup. The former maternity unit (Osprey Wing) now belongs to Hanover Scotland, who are working hard to achieve their plans to clear contaminants and start building the new supported living accommodation.

As the workload increases, we are delighted to welcome two new Trustees: Janie Logan, who previously worked as a nurse in Leanchoil Hospital, now adds to her role as clinical duty manager with Scottish Ambulance Service the position of Leanchoil Trust Board member.

Mark McIntosh is a senior manager for a national utilities company and brings excellent project management experience to the Board. A third successful interviewee will be confirmed later this year. We also welcome Michelle Gillibrand as an adviser to help us develop a strategy for recruiting and working with volunteers.

Fundraising is ongoing through grant applications and we have secured two awards very recently. Details of these will be shared as soon as possible. In addition to grant funding – which is very competitive and never guaranteed – we have a new structure in place to form subgroups with volunteers to help with fundraising and other organisational aspects of preparing to deliver all that our community needs from services onsite at Leanchoil.

It was an absolute pleasure to meet with so many of you at the hugely successful coffee mornings in aid of Leanchoil held in Forres, Dyke/Kintessack, Edinkillie, Dallas and Findhorn. We raised over £2000! Special thanks are due to Maclean bakers who donated fabulous butteries for every event, to Shortbread House of Edinburgh for raffle prizes and shortbread, and to all of you who produced delicious cakes and tray bakes. Logie Timber, Logie Steading, The Kimberley Inn, Findhorn Bakehouse and many attendees gave raffle gifts that were also greatly appreciated. Coffee mornings in Alves and Rafford will happen soon.

We do hope that you will visit our stand at the Forres Highland Games on 4 th July. Opportunities to volunteer will be there along with more information on the Born in Leanchoil project, plans update and an option to purchase a new Leanchoil T-shirt. 

Remember that you can name Leanchoil Trust as your chosen charity. Do stay in touch!
Thank you and warm regards ,
Marianne Nicolson
Chair, Leanchoil Trust

After a Scotland-wide competitive bidding process, the Leanchoil Trust have announced Inverness-based architects LDN are the successful bidders for the recent refurbishment contract.

The contract covers the phased design and redevelopment of the former Leanchoil Hospital into a thriving health and wellbeing centre for community benefit.

Speaking after confirming the contract award, chair of the Leanchoil Trust, Marianne Nicolson, said all the trustees were pleased with the outcome.

“There was significant interest in the project from far and wide, but the submission by LDN was a clear winner,” she said.

“With their tender submission and previous experience of delivering multi-faceted heritage projects, LDN showed themselves to be the ideal candidate to help us achieve the community's vision for this amazing place.”

LDN’s team will lead technical design and delivery planning, ensuring the project meets its goals for sustainability, accessibility, and community benefit.

The development is expected to be delivered in phases due to funding considerations, with initial works focusing on the core building and essential fabric repairs.

During an inspection of the building interior by LDN’s team of structural engineers, architects and other specialists this week, senior partner, Stuart MacKellar, said he was delighted to have been appointed as lead consultancy.

“LDN Architects has a long-established affinity for Leanchoil and the wider Forres community, so to have been selected to help the Leanchoil Trust to deliver on the vision it has pioneered over recent years is a very special privilege.

“The former hospital has clear social and heritage value, but we can also see less obvious potential in the building. We look forward to finding ways of realising this potential to the benefit of those who will come to use the facility as a place of health and wellbeing.

“To do that, we will rely on a collaborative approach with our skilled team of specialist consultants and the various partners, funders, stakeholders, in addition to the communities that will all feed into the project’s development.”

The Leanchoil project is grateful for the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Leanchoil Trust invites submissions from experienced, conservation-accredited design teams to support the redevelopment of the former Leanchoil Hospital in Forres.

This ambitious project will restore and adapt the historic building into a community-led Health & Wellbeing Centre, creating a sustainable and inclusive space for future generations. The vision is to establish a micro health and wellbeing ‘village’, supporting healthier, happier lives while preserving an important local heritage asset.

We are seeking a multidisciplinary Design Team, to include architectural conservation, conservation structural engineering, and cost consultancy heritage expertise to deliver RIBA Stages 4-7, beginning with technical design for the main hospital building and fabric repairs.

With strong community backing, planning and listed building consent already secured, along with national funding support, this project represents a unique opportunity to contribute to a flagship regeneration initiative in Scotland.

The tender is available via Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) here:.

Tender deadline: 25 May 2026
Appointment target: June 2026

Dear Leanchoil Members,

We are at a new and exciting stage of the Leanchoil project. As you will know from press reports, the former Leanchoil hospital now belongs to our community! The Community Asset Transfer (CAT) was successfully completed on 24th March to allow transfer of ownership from NHS Grampian. The former maternity unit was sold on to Hanover Scotland who are progressing with works to create a unit of supported living accommodation. Sincere thanks are due to everyone who worked very hard to meet the deadlines for the purchases to happen within a tight funding timeframe.

As soon as we owned the site, security was put in place to protect the Leanchoil buildings from further vandalism. We were delighted that the security company and police worked quickly to arrest youths who were caught on camera trying to access the buildings and spray the back of the former nursing home. We arranged further securing of windows and tidied the site before Moray Council arranged removal of the abandoned traveller caravans on 7th April. The grass will be tidied up in the next week and fallen trees/broken branches will be removed shortly thereafter.

Now fundraising begins in earnest, and while applications for available grants are being progressed, Leanchoil Trust has lost no time in arranging several coffee mornings to engage communities in Forres, Dyke/Kintessak, Edinkillie, Dallas and Findhorn. Please see dates below and support us if you can by attending, baking and donating for the raffles. We really need our communities’ help with gathering a group of willing volunteers to raise money for the Leanchoil renovation; news will follow about appointments to assist. A generous donation of £7156 – related to his date of birth in Leanchoil – was made by member Graham Tough. A donation was also made by an Australian businessman who was born in Leanchoil in 1959 and named his first business after the hospital.

Please remember we are keen to recruit new Trustees. The closing date for applications is 30th April and we will meet prospective candidates in the second week of May. Thanks to those who have already contacted us to note their interest.

As we speed towards Summer, we retain our excitement and enthusiasm for the ambitious Leanchoil project; we really hope that you will join us by naming Leanchoil Trust as your chosen charity and by getting in touch to find out how you can help.

Thank you!
Yours,

Marianne Nicolson
Chair, Leanchoil Trust

Please note the following: 

COFFEE MORNINGS all 10am-12 noon:
Dyke Hall 25th April
Forres Town Hall 2nd May
Edinkillie Hall 16th May
Findhorn JMI 23rd May
Dallas Village Hall 6th June