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

 

 

 

 

 

Ownership of the former Leanchoil Hospital has been formally transferred to the Leanchoil Trust on behalf of the Forres community. This marks a significant milestone in the long-term project to bring the historic site back into community use.

The transfer was completed this week following the recent approval of the Trust’s planning application for the refurbishment and conservation of the main building and the creation of a 41-unit supported accommodation development on the site.

The hospital was closed by NHS Grampian in 2018. 

The purchase of the nine-and-a-half-acre site from NHS Grampian as a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) was made possible by a £339,500 grant from the Scottish Land Fund. The CAT is the first ever such property disposal by NHS Grampian.

The Leanchoil Trust will now start the process of securing a Building Warrant from Moray Council.

Speaking yesterday as the transfer was concluded, Trustee and Forres Community Councillor Graham Murdoch said he was delighted that this vital stage has been reached.

“It has taken a far longer time to get here than any of us envisaged – we started this process in 2018 – but a lot of people have put in a lot of work to get here,” he said.

“Having the backing of the wider Forres community has been critical to getting to this point, along with the patience and support from NHS Grampian, Moray Council, Hanover Scotland and organisations that have provided funding.”

The Leanchoil Trust now takes on responsibility for the security of the site, insurance and general maintenance. The building of the new supported accommodation development on the site of the former maternity wing will be undertaken and managed by Hanover Scotland. This and the Trust’s work to bring the main hospital building back into service for the community will commence once the building warrant is secured.

Chair of Trustees, Marianne Nicolson, said the next step for the Trust is to secure funding for the refurbishment work, and a fund-raising campaign will be launched shortly.

“We are so grateful to all the organisations that have supported us so far, such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Berry Burn Community Fund, the Crown Estates, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Scottish Land Fund and the Pilgrim Trust. Local individuals, such as our loyal friend Albert Duffus and all our members have also been a great source of support.

 “We now need to raise about £8 million to finance the conservation and refurbishment work. It’s a huge sum but this is the biggest project of its kind and will be transformative for the local community.

“It may be some months before we see the start of construction work at Leanchoil, but before then we are keen to tidy the site and generally look after the buildings. To this end we will be encouraging engagement and help from the local community. We would love to hear from people of any age who are keen to volunteer as well as those who are interested in joining the board of Trustees to direct Leanchoil towards its exciting and successful future.”

To get in touch email info@leanchoiltrust.org

NHS Grampian’s property transactions manager, Gareth Evans, said: “Congratulations to everyone involved in the Leanchoil Trust for reaching this important milestone. We are pleased to be supporting this transfer of ownership of the site to the local community and hope the venture enjoys every success in the future.”

A major stage in the development of the former Leanchoil Hospital has been reached with planning approval by Moray Council.

The consent includes plans to conserve and re-purpose the Grade 2 listed buildings to a health and wellbeing centre, along with a new 41-unit supported housing facility.

Once completed the main building will feature consulting rooms, a physio and rehabilitation suite, café, a classroom facility for young people in west Moray, training room and offices for the Scottish Ambulance Service, and a wide range of larger meeting spaces for groups and organisations.

The supported housing facility will be built and managed by Hanover Scotland.

Steven Good, Director of Assets at Hanover, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see the Leanchoil vision reach this important milestone. Securing planning permission marks a significant step forward, and it has been a genuine pleasure to work alongside partners and the local community to help bring this inspiring project to fruition.

“The new homes will provide high-quality, accessible accommodation that enables people to live independently while staying connected to the heart of the community. This development reflects Hanover’s ongoing commitment to creating places that promote wellbeing, inclusion and dignity, and we look forward to seeing it become a valued part of Forres.”

Chair of Leanchoil Trustees, Marianne Nicolson, said the complexity of tying together ideas for different uses of the former hospital and achieving listed building consent has taken a huge amount of work by many people.

‘We are relieved and delighted to have reached this very important stage in the project and sincere thanks are due to everyone connected for their hard work,” she said.

“I know that to many it appeared that nothing was happening for a long time since the idea was launched to purchase, conserve the building and repurpose Leanchoil for the community. The listed status of the whole site and necessary negotiations with many third parties and organisations took time, patience and persistence.’

She said that with planning approval secured, the next crucial step for the project is fundraising.

“The Leanchoil Trust aims to raise £8 million to bring this transformative and trail-blazing health and wellbeing centre to life. Every contribution, large or small, will help us reach the goal.

“Leanchoil and its maternity wing were originally built through public subscription and generosity of the local communities. We are confident that such support can once again be achieved to deliver the Leanchoil centre. Grant-giving organisations will be attracted to help as they see buy-in by those who will benefit from Leanchoil’s services.”

Public donations can be made through our social media page and website.

So far the project has attracted support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Crown Estates, the Architectural Heritage Fund, Scottish Land Fund, the Berry Burn Community Fund and the Pilgrim Trust.

Forres councillor and Leader of Moray Council, Kathleen Robertson, said: “I am delighted to see the Leanchoil Trust granted planning permission. This is an important milestone which will hopefully bring confidence to potential funders to progress the project and breathe new life into a much-loved Forres landmark.”

Negotiations to purchase the site from NHS Grampian can now be finalised and the premises will then be under the ownership and control of the Leanchoil Trust.

 

On behalf of all Leanchoil Trustees, I wish you a happy and healthy 2026.

It is going to be a big year for us, as we anticipate imminent news from Moray Council about our planning application. We are cautiously optimistic that the opinion will be positive which will allow further progress in our aim to develop Leanchoil for the benefit of Forres and local residents.

Plans are currently being discussed to resolve the asbestos situation that exists within Leanchoil. Thereafter, the purchase (community asset transfer) from NHS Grampian of the Leanchoil buildings and site will be completed. Preparation work for the refurbishment of the main building and demolition of the former maternity building will follow.

We will be organising events onsite as soon as we own Leanchoil and will be launching a fundraising campaign to help with specific projects.

We are also going to advertise for two new trustees, so please consider joining us to achieve all that we can for Leanchoil. More details on this will follow shortly.

It is all very exciting and, as always, we welcome your ideas and comments, either by emailing us at info@leanchoiltrust.org or via our Facebook page.

Thank you for your support as we enter this dynamic phase of development.

Warmest regards,
Marianne Nicolson
Chair, Leanchoil Trust

 

 

 

REPORTS

Please click on the links below to download the reports in pdf format:
Conservation Plan

Preliminary Ecological Appraisal

PROPOSED LAYOUTS

Click on the images below to view enlarged proposed layouts and elevations