The Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust has been awarded a major grant by the Heritage
Lottery Fund to deliver its plans for a Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling at
Moat Brae – the Birthplace of Peter Pan – in Dumfries, the charity announced this week.
The HLF Round 2 Capital Grant of £1.78m comes hot on the heels of last month’s award of
£687,500 from Creative Scotland and means the Trust is now well on the way to raising the
£5m needed to create a major new visitor attraction at Moat Brae House and gardens.
Announcing the award, Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in
Scotland, said: “Moat Brae and its gardens have an important place in the history of
Dumfries. A new breath of life has the potential to transform them into a visitor attraction
that could boost the town’s tourist economy and inspire children today and tomorrow, as
they once inspired JM Barrie. We are delighted to be able to support this ambitious and
inspirational project.”
The Trust’s patron, Joanna Lumley, greeted the news, saying: “These grants will
make a sensational difference to Moat Brae and the plans for the future of the Peter Pan
Moat Brae Trust. It means that we can now move swiftly towards our goals of restoring the
house and garden in readiness for its role in the literary life of children in Scotland. Our aims
are to nurture the memories of past writers and to encourage the emergence of new young
talent: to respect our extraordinary literary inheritance and to enable children’s
imaginations to fly, like Peter Pan. What a thrilling piece of good news! ”
The news was also welcomed by the Trust’s Chairman, Dame Barbara Kelly, who
said: “This announcement is the culmination of five years’ hard work, determination and
commitment by our Trustees and dedicated staff. I particularly want to congratulate Cathy
Agnew and her team on their achievement. I believe Moat Brae will create a major
attraction and focus for local, national and international visitors. It has massive potential to
contribute to the local economic, social and cultural regeneration of Dumfries and has the
ability to attract much-needed inward investment and could create up to 35 new jobs.”
Project Director Cathy Agnew said: “This is a very exciting moment for us. To have
this level of support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, in addition to the recent awards from
Creative Scotland, is a real vote of confidence in our ability and capacity to deliver the whole
project. Our plans are now well on their way to being realised. We aim to start on site next
autumn and to open in 2017.” She added, “We will continue to build bridges and
partnerships with a number of national organisations who will want to play their part in the
successful future of Moat Brae by delivering quality activities and opportunities.”
Planning permission and Listed Building Consent have recently been granted to the
Trust who, with LDN Architects, have produced designs for the final development of Moat
Brae House and gardens. These include exhibition space within the existing building and
two new extensions on either side of the property, one to house visitor facilities including a
shop and a café, and the other to provide a Learning and Education Suite.
Councillor Colin Smyth, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy,
Environment and Infrastructure Committee said, “This is great news and everyone involved
in the Moat Brae Peter Pan Trust should be congratulated for their successful bid. The
progress being made in fundraising by the Trust has been breath-taking and when
completed Moat Brae will make a fantastic contribution to the regeneration of Dumfries
Town Centre. That’s why the Council is keen to continue to support this project. On the back
of the recent transformation of the Dock Park, it is good to see the Heritage Lottery Fund
investing in yet another excellent project in our regional capital”.
Over the last 8 months, more than 2,500 people have visited Moat Brae either as
part of the public consultation, on specific Open Days or as part of school visits. The Trust
recognises the importance of the house being used as much as possible and for as many
activities to take place in advance of it opening in 2017.
