Your Community Council — What We Can Do
At a glance
✔ We CAN
- Represent your views to Moray Council and other bodies
- Respond formally to planning applications
- Apply for grants and funding
- Raise issues formally with Moray Council
- Support and coordinate community activity
- Help initiate a community development trust for larger projects
- Keep residents informed
✘ We CANNOT
- Instruct or compel Moray Council to act
- Enforce laws or bylaws (dog fouling, speeding, parking)
- Override decisions made by private landowners
- Deliver major infrastructure projects directly
- Hold land, assets, leases or employ staff
- Resolve national policy issues (housing, childcare, energy)
What we can do
🗣️ Represent your views
Our primary role is to be the community’s voice. We take residents’ views — gathered through surveys, public meetings and direct contact — to Moray Council, the Scottish Government and other bodies. The more residents who raise the same concern, the stronger our case.
📋 Respond to planning applications
We are a statutory consultee on planning applications. Those bodies must formally notify us and consider our response — though they are not obliged to act on it. If a planning application concerns you, tell us early so we can respond within the consultation window.
💰 Apply for grants and funding
We can apply for grants to support community projects and help other local organisations do the same. The recent refurbishment of the harbour toilets is a practical example. Funding applications succeed more often when backed by evidence — which is exactly what our community survey provides.
📬 Raise issues with Moray Council
We can write formally to Moray Council, attend meetings and escalate concerns on your behalf. We cannot compel them to act — but a well-evidenced formal representation, backed by survey data, carries real weight. This is one of the most effective things we can do.
🤝 Support community activity
We can help connect volunteers, support local events and work alongside other village organisations such as the Harbour Advisory Group and Findochty Water Sports Club. We do not need to do everything ourselves — coordinating and supporting others is a key part of our role.
📢 Keep residents informed
We keep the community informed about decisions, developments and opportunities through our website, Facebook page and public meetings. If there is something you think we should be communicating better, please tell us.
Our recent community survey is a direct example of this in action.
65 residents told us what matters most. Read what you said and what we’re doing about it.What we cannot do
✘ Instruct Moray Council
Roads, pavements, grass cutting, gritting, street lighting and planning enforcement are all Moray Council responsibilities. We can lobby strongly, but we cannot direct them. For urgent service issues, the fastest route is to contact Moray Council directly — we can advise you how.
✘ Enforce anything
Dog fouling, speeding, dangerous parking and derelict buildings are enforcement matters for Moray Council or Police Scotland. We have no enforcement powers. What we can do is raise these issues formally on your behalf and keep the pressure on when responses are slow.
✘ Override a landowner
Much of the land around Findochty is owned by Seafield Estate or other private landowners. What happens on that land is ultimately their decision. We can engage constructively and make representations, but we cannot compel a private landowner to act.
✘ Deliver major infrastructure
Harbour improvements, road resurfacing and new play facilities require significant funding and are delivered by Moray Council or other public bodies. Our role is to make the case for investment — not to deliver these ourselves. For larger projects, a different vehicle is needed.
Larger projects — when a development trust is the answer
When a project is too large for a community council
Some ambitions — significant harbour improvements, acquiring land for community use, major coastal infrastructure — are simply too large or complex for FCC to take on directly. For projects at this scale, a separate community development organisation is usually the right vehicle.
A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) or Development Trust has its own legal identity, can hold assets and enter contracts, employ staff, and access funding streams that community councils cannot — including HIE, the National Lottery Community Fund and LEADER rural development funding.
FCC cannot become a development trust, but we can help initiate one and work alongside it. The two organisations would be distinct but complementary — FCC as the community’s elected democratic voice, the trust as the dedicated delivery vehicle for a specific project. Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) supports their formation and can provide free advice.
If the harbour and coastal area emerges as the community’s top priority — as our recent survey suggests it might — exploring this route would be a logical next step. If you are interested in being involved, please get in touch.
How to get the most from your community council
Tell us what matters
The more specific you are, the better we can represent you. Surveys, public meetings and direct contact all help us build the evidence base we need to make a strong case on your behalf.
Come to a meeting
Our public meetings are open to everyone who lives in, works in or regularly visits Findochty. Dates are published on the website and Facebook page. You do not need to be a member to attend or speak.
Report issues to the right body
For urgent Moray Council service issues — potholes, overflowing bins, street lighting — contact Moray Council directly. We can advise on the right route and back up your concern with a formal representation where appropriate.
Get involved
We are volunteers with limited time and resources. We work best when the community works with us. Whether as a volunteer, a potential trustee for a future development trust, or simply by coming to a meeting — we would love to hear from you.
Ready to see what you told us?
Now that you know what your community council can and cannot do,read the full results of our 2026 community priorities survey. View the survey results
Website: findochty-cc.org | Facebook: Findochty Community Council