Landowner donates ex-airfield to charity

A LANDOWNER has handed over 100 acres of land and buildings to help a charity construct a centre for outdoor learning.

Mark Tennant, the owner of the Innes Estate, has offered to lease the land to the award-winning charity, Outfit Moray for 35 years, charging just £1 per year.

The site, located to the south east of Lossiemouth, previously functioned as a Ministry of Defence airfield from the Second World War until its later role as a communications facility ceased in 2007.

Outfit Moray has worked with more than 14,000 children and young people to help build their confidence, self-esteem and resilience for the past 13 years and will build a Community Outdoor Learning & Adventure Hub, which is expected to cost around £2 million and be up and running by January 2017.

Mr Tennant said: “I really want what we are doing here to be an example of how landowners can work in partnership with community and charitable groups. It is not always about trying to buy land for community use when landowners are happy to make land available for projects that will make such a huge a difference to the lives of others.

“I am giving what is a significant part of an old airfield for what is, I believe, a unique and well planned project that will benefit large numbers of vulnerable children and young people, not just in Moray but across Scotland.

“I am absolutely delighted to be able to help make this happen.”

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said the gift was another example of how private landowners are playing a vital role in their communities.

He added: “All too often we hear misguided commentary that suggests landowners are detached from their local communities but Mark has illustrated exactly how inaccurate that narrative is.”