Chamber News
Moray Council's Christmas and New Year Service Arrangements 2025/26
15 December 2025 • Sarah Medcraf
Moray Council has published its service arrangements for the forthcoming festive period. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All council offices closed Wednesday 24 December at 3pm until Monday 5 January 2026 at 8.45am. Emergency council services Emergency out of hours services can be found at moray.gov.uk/emergency. Urgent child protection matters, immediate threat to your health and safety, or risk of major damage to a property can be reported on 03457 565656. For routine and non-urgent contacts, information can be found on moray.gov.uk/contact. Housing Emergency Repairs Details of emergency housing repairs can be found online at moray.gov.uk/emergency – only emergency repairs will be progressed by phoning 03457 565656. Non-urgent repairs can be reported through the usual housing portal. Homelessness Anyone experiencing homelessness with no other accommodation available can contact the housing team on 03457 565656. Roads maintenance Emergency road, footpath, drainage defects, lighting faults and winter gritting will be covered throughout the festive period. Winter maintenance information is available online. Schools and education All schools and council nurseries close on Friday 19 December and reopen on Monday 5 January 2026. Any queries during this time can be sent to education@moray.gov.uk but may not be responded to immediately. Sports & Leisure Facilities Buckie Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre; Forres Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre; Keith Sports & Community Centre; Lossiemouth Sports & Community Centre; Speyside Sports & Community Centre: Wednesday 24 Dec: Holiday timetable (8am-2pm in Buckie, Forres, Keith and Lossiemouth; 9am-3pm in Speyside) Thursday 25 and Friday 26 Dec: all facilities closed Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 Dec: Holiday timetable – see individual pool pages for details Monday 29 & Tuesday 30 Dec: Holiday timetable (8am-2pm in Buckie, Forres, Keith and Lossiemouth; 9am-3pm in Speyside) Wednesday 31 Dec until Friday 2 Jan 2026: all facilities closed Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 Jan 2026: Holiday timetable – see individual pool pages for details Normal timetable and opening times restart on Monday 5 January 2026, including swimming lessons.
Forres House Community Centre; Milne’s Fitness Suite, Fochabers; Elgin High Sports Centre; football pitches and pavilions. Wednesday 24 December until Monday 5 January 2026: closed. Normal timetables restart on Monday 5 January 2026. Libraries Wednesday 24 December: Buckie, Elgin (Heritage closed) & Forres – 10am-3pm (early closing) Burghead, Cullen, Dufftown, Keith & Milne’s – closed Aberlour & Tomintoul – normal opening hours Lossiemouth – 10am-2pm Thursday 25 & Friday 26 December: all libraries closed Saturday 27 to Tuesday 30 December: all libraries normal opening hours Wednesday 31 December to Friday 2 January 2026: all libraries closed All libraries return to normal opening times on Saturday 3 January 2026.
m.connect m.connect services can continue to be booked via the app throughout the festive period, visit moray.gov.uk/mconnect for more information. Wed 24 December: normal service Thurs 25 December: no service Fri 26 December: no service Sun 28 December: no service Mon 29 December: normal service Tues 30 December: normal service Wed 31 December: no service Fri 2 January: no service Sat 3 January: no service Sun 4 January: no service Mon 5 January 2026: normal service resumes Car parks St Giles and Batchen Lane multi-storey car parks Closed: Wednesday 24 December at 7pm until Friday 26 December at 9am; Wednesday 31 December at 7pm until Friday 2 January 2026 at 9am. Alternative street level parking is available. Registrars Elgin Office closed: Wednesday 24 December at 3pm until 8.45am on Monday 5 January 2026. Open: Strictly by appointment, 29-30 December from 8.45am - 5.00pm for death registration only. Burial Service The information below shows the opening times for interment enquiries over the Christmas and New Year period. Monday 22 December: Normal office hours Tuesday 23 December: Normal office hours Wednesday 24 December: Office closes at 3pm Thursday 25 December and Friday 26 December: Office Closed Monday 29 December: Office open between 10am and 2pm Tuesday 30 December: Office open between 10am and 2pm Wednesday 31 December to Friday 2 January: Office Closed For further information please visit Burials and Cemeteries - Moray Council or email burialsadmin@moray.gov.uk
Refuse and recycling Green and recycling bin collections will continue three-weekly, with no collections on Thursday 25 & Friday 26 December 2025 or Thursday 1 & Friday 2 January 2026. Alternative collection dates for these are set out below – please note some of these are earlier than normal collection days. Collections may be carried out earlier than normal, please have all bins at their usual collection point by 7.30am. If there's any disruption to these collections, we'll post this on our service portal and set out when we'll return. There will be no brown bin collections from Monday 22 December for two weeks. Collections restart on Monday 5 January 2026. Additional glass bins will be provided at Tesco (Buckie, Keith, Elgin & Forres) and Asda (Elgin) to meet increased demand. Real Christmas trees can be put out alongside your brown bin from Monday 5 January and will be uplifted without the need for a garden waste permit for one scheduled collection. Domestic waste collections
Updated collection calendars are available here. The special collection and waste hotline will be closed from 3pm on Wednesday 24 December until 9am Monday 5 January. The last bulky collections for 2025 will be Friday 12 December 2025.
Recycling centres Please note from Sunday 21 December until Monday 5 January 2026 we can't accept wood, metal, soil and rubble at any recycling centre.
Bookings are still required for Chanonry Recycling Centre, Elgin, and can be made up to one hour before the time slot where there is availability. Commercial waste collections
Public conveniences Closed: 25 & 26 December 2025 and 1 & 2 January 2026. Scottish Welfare Fund Scottish Welfare Fund will close Wednesday 24 December 2025 at 3pm re-opening on Monday 29 December 2025. A skeleton Crisis Grant service will be provided on Monday 29 December, Tuesday 30 December and Wednesday 31 December. Applications can be made online at www.moray.gov.uk/scottishwelfarefund or by phoning 03457 565 656. The service will close at 4pm on Wednesday 31 December, re-opening at 8.45am on Monday 5 January 2026. Care at Home service The Care at Home service will continue to operate throughout the festive period. Office-based support teams will also be available and can be contacted as usual. Adult, Children and Families, and Justice social care services Duty social work arrangements will be in place for all services. For enquiries or concerns, please contact:
For urgent support outside normal office hours or on public holidays, contact the Moray Council emergency helpline on 03457 565656. Find out more: Moray Council's Christmas and New Year service arrangements 2025/26 | Moray Council News |