A historic Moray airfield will be given a new lease of life under plans to transform it into a £2million mecca for outdoor activities.
The dilapidated former air station at Milltown is being renovated by children’s charity Outfit Moray – after landowner Mark Tennant agreed to lease the 500 acre site at just £1 for each of the next 30 years.
Charity chiefs said the donation was “invaluable”, and are now beginning work on an ambitious package of improvements.
Lossiemouth-based Outfit Moray offers deprived local youngsters exciting adventure breaks away from the struggles of home.
The charity’s chief executive, Ian Rideout, said yesterday marked a “really significant day” for the group as it realised a long-held ambition.
Mr Rideout said: “For the last eight years we have been trying to find a site just like this.
“We wanted it to be within this area, with access to the hills and coast.
“It turned out only to be a matter of asking for land at Milltown, and Mr Tennant was only to happy to listen to our ideas.
“He really wanted to be part of something that makes a difference, and leaves a legacy behind.”
Mr Tennant added: “We want to commit to this for the next 30 years at least, it will be wonderful to see children bicycling around the airfield enjoying themselves and being lifted out of the despond and despair that they live in.”
RAF Milltown was originally a World War II airfield, and satellite station to RAF Lossiemouth, which became known as HMS Fulmar in 1946 after being transferred to the Royal Navy.
The station was used by the Navy for practising deck landings until 1972, when it was returned to the RAF and served as a gliding school.
In later years it was a Ministry of Defence (MoD) communications site, with more than 50 large antenna, until it closed in 2007.
Since then, the airfield has fallen into disrepair – with local livestock making a mess of several buildings.
The expanse was purchased by the Innes Estate in 2013, after the MoD removed antennas and communication equipment.
Outfit Moray has spent the last eight months drafting up feasibility studies for the renewal of the base, after receiving more than £20,000 in government funding in 2014.
Mr Rideout made the blockbuster announcement yesterday morning at Innes House, the exclusive 17th century manor owned by Mr Tennant.
More than 70 invited guests reacted with excitement to the news.
By this time next year he hopes a first phase of work will have concluded, featuring a cafe, office spaces and training rooms.
There will also be a bike workshop, where refurbished models can be stored and let out for hire.
More than three miles of runways will be converted into cycle tracks, which will also be open to the public.
Outfit Moray aims to build an indoor mountain bike skills course in a massive hangar at the base, and to have water facilities for kayaking practice.
Plans to create accommodation on the land for visiting youngsters include installing a series of log cabin eco villages on the east of the site.
Mr Rideout added: “These programmes transform the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.
“We have already helped more than 14,000 teenagers and youngsters from Moray, and for us this new site will be a centre for hope and happiness.”
Moray Council convener Allan Wright said: “It’s particularly encouraging to see an organisation like Outfit Moray coming together with one of the biggest estate owners in the region.
“This is an extremely exciting development.”
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