National Trust announce £60 million investment

The charity’s five-year plan hopes to attract more of a variety of visitors - 100,000 to be precise. The plan includes developing learning experiences for modern audiences, by being more engaging when presenting Scotland’s natural collections, gardens and stories about its country.

The chief executive of National Trust for Scotland, Simon Skinner states, “This strategy outlines everything that the National Trust for Scotland stands for: protecting our heritage, sharing unique experiences with people and promoting Scotland, all through the collective endeavour of our supporters and staff. To do that, we need to create an efficient and sustainable business which delivers our conservation ambitions.”

“Our charity is unique in Scotland in that its remit is to protect the full spectrum of cultural, built and natural heritage. Our independent charitable status also gives us the freedom to take a long-term view about what is best for heritage, to make our voice heard when it is needed and to take radical action, just as we are doing at The Hill House. This plan for the next five years sets out how we can make the Trust fit for the future.”

By 2023, The National Trust for Scotland hopes to increase current memberships from 375,000 to 490,000, and increase annual donations to more than £10 million. The organisation hopes of using the money to begin projects such as restoring the landmark The Hill House in Helensburgh, built by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1902. The particular project will entail surrounding the house with protective materials that will look like a giant cage around the landmark, according to the National Trust for Scotland. The structure desperately needs to be under construction, as the house was built with Portland cement, which has continuously allowed water ingress into the property ever since it was first applied.