Council pledge extra funding to help fire-hit Crannog Centre

Perth and Kinross Council have pledged additional funding to help the fire-ravaged Scottish Crannog Centre on its road to recovery.

A devastating fire at the centre in June destroyed an iconic replica Iron Age house on the shores of Loch Tay.

At a PKC committee meeting this week, councillors unanimously agreed to match Scottish Government funding given to the trust.

The trust told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the £51,000 fund from Perth and Kinross Council would enable them to progress plans to move to a new site on the opposite side of Loch Tay.

Scottish Crannog Trust director Mike Benson told the LDRS: “We are incredibly grateful to PKC for its ongoing support.

“This support will enable us to continue with our plans to move to our new site at Dalerb.”

PKC leader Murray Lyle and Highland Perthshire Conservative councillor John Duff met with Mr Benson and the chairman of the Scottish Crannog Centre Trust, Nicholas Grant shortly after the fire.

Conservative leader Murray Lyle pledged to see how the council could support the trust in its recovery.

At a meeting of the strategic policy and resources committee on September 1, members agreed to increase PKC’s support from £20,000 to £51,000 – matching a similar donation from the Scottish Government.

Moving a report on the revenue budget 2021/22, Cllr Lyle told the committee: “Everyone will be aware of the devastating fire at the Crannog Centre in Highland Perthshire earlier this year.

“Given this material change in their circumstances and since the council previously allocated £20,000 to the Crannog Centre, I am proposing that we apply an additional £31,000 of the total projected under spend identified in this report to provide additional financial support to the Crannog Centre.

“This sum meets the amount requested by the chair of the Crannog Centre and will allow them to proceed with their plans.

“It will assist with their recovery and support it to become the world class visitor experience that we know it will be.”

Cllr Duff – who has taken over from Cllr Lyle as convener of this committee – is a trustee of the Scottish Crannog Centre Trust.

The Highland Perthshire councillor said: “The director and staff worked tirelessly after the fire to get the Crannog Centre open again for business and have achieved wonders, despite the devastating blow of losing the reconstruction of the iconic Iron Age crannog.

“However, the appalling loss of the crannog has been the trigger to advance plans for the new centre at Dalerb across the water.

“I am pleased that the support of Perth and Kinross will help the board to take the next step towards making that happen.”

Reporting by Local Democracy Reporter Kathryn Anderson