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Restoration of iconic Tarlair pool boosted by near £1.5m grant

More than £1m has been committed to restoration of the Tarlair pool pavilion. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.
More than £1m has been committed to restoration of the Tarlair pool pavilion. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.

Work to bring life back to the ‘Mecca of the Moray Firth’ has been backed with nearly £1.5 million.

Restoration plans are being drawn up for the art deco pavilion alongside the historic Tarlair pool.

And Aberdeenshire Council has now been given £1.458m to put towards the £1.8m cost of the project, from the Scottish Government’s annual regeneration capital grant fund.

It marks the latest big government investment in the decaying gem, after the local authority spent £300,000 in 2015 repairing the complex to make it safe for walkers on the terraces, and securing the boating and toddler pools.

This next stage in the project will be hoped to draw visitors to the site before the end goal: restoration of the swimming pool nearest the sea.

More than £1m has been committed to restoration of the Tarlair pool pavilion. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.
Visitors to the art deco Tarlair pool and pavilion are treated to breath-taking views. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.

Earlier this year, we told you the Friends Of Tarlair Community Group had hired two firms to design the rejuvenated building.

London-based Studio Octopi and Heritage Architecture were employed to draw up a tearoom, social space, art hertiage workshop and toilet facilities in the dilapidated poolside hut.

The friends association took a 99-year lease on the disused lido in the hope of bringing people back to the area, once a holidaying destination.

They will now look to secure match-funding for the remaining pavilion project costs and hope to source funds for development of the swimming pool too.

Councillor Ross Cassie, chairman of Macduff Development Partnership, said the funding was “absolutely great news” and praised Friends of Tarlair for the work they had done so far.

He told us: “This is an iconic art deco building being brought back into use thanks to money from the Scottish Government.

“And it obviously brings with it hopes of regeneration for Macduff.

“We are all very keen to see Tarlair, which is something really special, brought back into use and to draw people to the wider area.”

Chairwoman of the council’s Banff and Buchan Area Committee, Doreen Mair, said: “The community has really pulled out all the stops to get this project off the ground and to get such significant funding is great news for everyone involved.

“Of course, now the really hard work begins, but I have every faith that this collaborative project between Aberdeenshire Council and the community will be a tremendous success.”

A well-used tourist haven left to decay: Tarlair pool and pavilion

Tarlair Triple Pool Complex was designed by Macduff surveyor John Miller in 1930 and the spectacular attraction opened to the public the following year.

It closed in 1996 and was later used as a concert venue.

The run-down insides of Tarlair pool pavilion, which has been scarred by vandals over the years. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.
The run-down insides of Tarlair pool pavilion, which has been scarred by vandals over the years. Picture by Kenny Elrick/DCT Media in March 2020.

Heritage chiefs awarded the site A-listed status in 2007, noting it was a “remarkably fine, little-altered and early example of an outdoor art deco swimming pool”.

Historic Scotland said it was one of only three known surviving sea-side outdoor swimming pool complexes in the country.

Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur said: “The last few years have been tough for us all but many of Scotland’s communities have been more impacted than others.

“The latest projects to benefit from the regeneration capital grant fund are working to tackle inequalities and create vibrant town centres and neighbourhoods.

“By securing investment from this £25m fund, these innovative projects demonstrate the powerful role those in our communities can have in helping to transform their town centres and neighbourhoods by investing in their future.

“The Scottish Government will do all it can to support projects that help create the fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland we all want to see.”

The Mecca of the Moray Firth: How the tide turned on Tarlair Outdoor Swimming Pool