Braemar Mountain Rescue Team leaders have formed plans to “future-proof” the former fire station the life-saving group calls home.
The selfless squad of local volunteers operate from a building that has not been modified for about 25 years.
Bosses agree that now is the time for a change.
The proposed alterations are designed to bring the team into the modern age, with added space for the police and women’s showers being installed for the first time.
Blueprints also show a 1.5 storey extension to the existing centre, a new detached garage and a larger control room.
Slide across on our graphic to see the change from the old to new centre –
Extra space for loved ones facing anxious waits
Malcolm MacIntyre, support manager for Braemar Mountain Rescue Team, explained how the extension will benefit the group.
Malcolm said: “We were finding that our control room is too small, we are quite cramped up in there.
“This will also give us added space for people to stay overnight, and for a ‘relative room’ for people who are with us waiting for news on their friends or family on the hills.
“We work very closely with the police, and they will also be afforded more control space here.”
Malcolm added that having separate female showers will help to redress an “imbalance” and bring the site “into the 21st century”.
Could plans result in better gender balance?
There is currently one woman on the team, who is a mountaineering instructor.
Malcolm says the “real asset to the team” has qualifications beyond many of her colleagues.
The team does not recruit for members, instead taking on suitable candidates who apply.
But there is the prospect that having a more female-friendly centre will encourage others to join.
“We have never had more than two women on the team at any time, though some other teams have more,” Malcolm said.
“We don’t recruit on the basis of gender, nor do we actively recruit.
“But we are always open to applications.”
Braemar Mountain Rescue Team says lack of space ‘can be an issue’
The team is yet to calculate a cost for the scheme, and will begin work on funding arrangements if and when Aberdeenshire Council rubber-stamps it.
Malcolm is hopeful that approval will give the rescue heroes “a bit of stability”.
He said: “There are times when the lack of space is an issue, and this will make the centre more fit for purpose, and help us operate more efficiently.
“What we are very much trying to do is future proof it going forward.
“This will be the team’s home for at least the next 25-30 years.”
Find news on a new planning application for a swimming pool at a historic Oldmeldrum home here, and keep an eye out for our Planning Ahead round-up on Monday morning.
Rock climbers caught out by onset of darkness on Eagle Ridge near Lochnagar