Plans for National Marine Centre unveiled

The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick has shared proposals to create a National Marine Centre for Scotland.

Working with partners across the country, the new centre will transform the Seabird Centre to explore marine life above and below the waves - including seabirds. The project will cost around £5.5 million and focuses on delivering new and better education and conservation programmes at the Centre and nationwide. The National Marine Centre is a working title.

The proposed plans will create a new education centre for visiting school groups as well as provide outreach and online educational resources. Within the new visitor attraction, a range of interactive exhibitions will take visitors on a fascinating journey, exploring the marine world that is often hidden and inaccessible.  Plans also feature an observatory with 360° views which will allow visitors to view North Berwick’s stunning coastline.

Grace Martin, Project Director for the National Marine Centre, said

"The Scottish Seabird Centre currently offers visitors an opportunity to engage with nature in a sustainable way. As a conservation and education charity, we welcome 4,000 school children a year and lead projects such as SOS Puffin.

"But, as with all charities, we must move with the times to remain viable and to achieve our objectives of inspiring people to care for wildlife and the natural environment. We have more education requests that we can accommodate and visitor expectations are at an all-time-high. Our vision is to create a centre that is of national significance and one that the local community is proud of."

Simpson and Brown, the original Seabird Centre architects, who specialise in conservation projects, creative adaption of existing buildings and the design of environmentally-sound initiatives, have been working closely with multi award-winning exhibition designers Event Communications to develop the plans. A dedicated advisory group, led by Professor John Baxter, comprising scientists, researchers and practitioners, are providing input on marine-related content for the exhibitions and activities. 

The Scottish Seabird Centre has been awarded development funding of £290,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to progress plans. HLF has also given its initial support for a £3.5million bid for the project. A further £2million must be secured through fundraising. The new centre is planned to open in 2020, timed for VisitScotland’s Year of Scotland’s Coasts and Waters.

You can see plans for the new Centre, and watch a video fly through, on the Scottish Seabird Centre website. You can also give your views on the proposals in an online survey. If you have any queries you can email nmcproject@seabird.org or call 01620 897 548.