THE owners of the birthplace of Scotland's most famous explorer say they remain optimistic despite warnings that running cost funding could be withdrawn if multi-million pound renovations do not go ahead.
The David Livingstone Trust denied there is a "gun to our head" after the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) warned financial support for the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, might have to be blocked if plans to transform the attraction did not materialise.
It is estimated £12 million is required to refurbish and repair the birthplace museum of his life and work which is housed in Shuttle Row, a tenement which the Livingstone shared with 23 other families.
Ian Livingstone, chairman of the David Livingstone Trust said they were positive over providing a viable future for the centre with the NTS.
He said a development plan was being finalised over the next few months and would be used to obtain the necessary funding from the likes of the Scottish Government and Heritage Lottery Fund.
"We want to get the centre to a position where it will host things that will attract families to go there and go back," he said.
"We are not looking at a doomsday scenario, we are looking at what we feel will be a viable future for it."
The NTS which manages the property has warned it cannot keep funding the centre as it stands because it is running at a financial loss.
The centre which attracts an estimated 25,000 visitors a year was given a 12-month financial lifeline by the NTS and South Lanarkshire Council, which helps fund costs to run the centre and 20-acre estate.
A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The trust fully recognises the importance of the centre and its critical place in our heritage, which is why we are playing such an active role in seeking out a long-term solution.
"Major investment is needed to make that happen so we are carefully exploring external funding options."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article