A SCOTTISH centre for children’s literature in the Dumfries house which was the inspiration behind the Peter Pan story is about to become a reality after a local trust reached its £5.8 million target.
Now work will begin to turn the “enchanted land” where future playwright JM Barrie found his early inspiration at Moat Brae, on the banks of the River Nith, into a National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling and a Neverland Discovery Garden. Despite the years of neglect and decay suffered by the property, the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust is confident of breathing new life back into “the birthplace of Peter Pan” with 18 months of restoration work to begin next month. Being carried out by Balfour Beatty, it is expected to be finished during 2018.
The trust hopes the project will attract 40,000 visitors a year, contribute £1.3 million to the local economy and create dozens of new jobs for the area.
Project director Cathy Agnew said it was an “important milestone” for the scheme and a culmination of seven-and-a-half years of hard work trying to piece it together.
She said: “This is a very exciting project and it is very important for us to be working with a national company like this.
“It has been a long time and there have been various ups and downs and different ups and downs within the economy. We have been fortunate to have had good support from public funding sectors and private trusts and foundations and, indeed, individuals. It has been a real team effort.”
JM Barrie was born in Kirriemuir in Angus, but moved to Dumfries in 1873 as a teenager and was a regular visitor to the Moat Brae property.
Trust chairman Dame Barbara Kelly said: “Our board of trustees, volunteers and staff team has done a truly remarkable job.”
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