A fundraising campaign has been launched to rebuild an award-winning bird hide which was destroyed by fire last month.
The popular bird-watching spot on the shore of Loch Leven was gutted by the blaze on February 18th and left a skeletal shell of broken timbers.
Now Scottish Government body Naturescot is turning to the public for held restoring the building as funds will not be available until in next year at the earliest.
The hide, built in 2011 and situated on the edge of Kinross behind the Todd and Duncan factory, had won awards for its architectural design.
It was a much-loved place for locals and visitors alike to enjoy some of the best views of the loch and the large numbers of birds congregating on the water.
Police believe the fire was started deliberately and have launched an investigation.
The blaze destroyed the structure
NatureScot’s reserve manager Neil Mitchell said: “The hide was hugely popular, with so many people enjoying this wonderful vantage point for the ducks, geese and swans that feed and roost in Factory Bay – as well as the occasional glimpse of a kingfisher.
“While it’s gutting to see it destroyed, the response from the community and the general public has been amazing. Given this bird watching site’s popularity and fantastic loch side location, we are determined to replace the hide as soon as possible.”
READ MORE: Mill Hide in Kinross 'gutted by blaze'
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of people offering support, so we’ve decided to begin our first ever crowdfunding effort with the aim of re-building the hide as soon as possible.”
Speaking on behalf of Kinross Community Council, Chairwoman Lynne McKay, added: “While we were pleased that no one was injured in the fire, we were all shocked and saddened by the destruction of one of Loch Leven's treasured loch-side facilities. With its award-winning design and vantage point in a beautiful spot at the south-west of the loch, the hide was a much-loved building.
“Like all the residents of Kinross, the Perth & Kinross Councillors and Kinross Community Councillors are fully behind the crowdfunding initiative that NatureScot intends to launch. It is hoped it will enable the re-building of the hide so that it can be restored to its former glory.”
The hide as it was
Currently, the hide is fenced off for public safety, but NatureScot hopes to begin re-building this year.
READ MORE: Five favourite birdwatching spots in Scotland
Loch Leven is Scotland’s most visited National Nature Reserve. With more than 250,000 people a year visiting the site and using the Loch Leven Heritage Trail, this bird hide was one of the most visited parts of the reserve.
The bird hide won the award for the best "Low Cost Project" at the 2012 Scottish Design Awards.
The original hide cost about £35,000 and it’s anticipated the replacement will be a similar cost. The crowdfunder can be viewed here.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel