Friends of Tarlair appoint project coordinator as ambitious pavilion development shifts up a gear
Aberdeenshire Council and the Friends of Tarlair are celebrating the next phase of the hugely anticipated pavilion redevelopment.
Since being awarded funding through the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Scheme and the Place Based Investment Programme earlier this year, the project has made significant progress.
The funding package of around £1.8million has included additional match funding support from local fundraising and community organisations such as Garfield Weston & Muirden Energy, Pilgrims Trust, Dalrymple Donaldson, David & June Memorial Trust and the Grant Fraser Trust which has powered the project forward to the next critical stage.
Friends of Tarlair set about engaging with professional design organisations and architects to scale up the plans of the development making sure it was sympathetic to its original designs.
The group, which has been working closely with its design team led by Studio Octopi and Heritage Architecture, has just appointed Wincenty Sosna as project co-ordinator who brings with him significant experience managing multi-million pounds projects including the recently opened Elizabeth Line.
And with the technical design work now complete, the project brief for the next phase has been published on Procurement Contracts Scotland. Times remain challenging within the construction sector with the ongoing problem of material availability coupled with higher energy costs which are unlikely to be resolved in the short term. The group will now work closely together to review the tenders and address any challenges.
Cllr Doreen Mair, chair of the Banff and Buchan Area Committee, added: “This has been a tremendous example of partnership working between local people and ourselves to support transformation in our communities. The works at Tarlair will also enhance and complement the existing attractions available to visitors along this short stretch of coastline including Banff Castle, Duff House, the newly-refurbished Macduff Cross viewpoint and the Macduff Marine Aquarium.”
Chair of the Macduff Development Partnership, Councillor Ross Cassie, said: “The pavilion improvement and the next stages of this capital regeneration improvement project is extremely important for not only the residents of Macduff and the community group but will inject life back into a once extremely popular local attraction. With further plans to explore the redevelopment of the lido on the horizon the area will be one of the exciting places to visit and really showcase Macduff as a visitor attraction.”
Pat Wain, chair of the Friends, added: “With the appointment of our project development coordinator, together with the receipt of tenders for the pavilion works, we are seeing very real progress at Tarlair and I would like to thank Aberdeenshire Council, our generous funders and all those who have helped us get to this stage.”