NTS members flock to pay winter repair bill

SCOTLAND'S biggest conservation charity has been bailed out of a cash crisis after hundreds of its members dipped into their pockets to help cover the cost of damage caused by the severe winter weather.

The National Trust for Scotland was forced to mount an emergency appeal after warning that it was facing a 100,000 shortfall due to the scale of crisis at 20 sites across the country.

Officials had pleaded for help after admitting the insurance cover would not be enough to meet the cost of repairs caused by more than a month of freezing temperatures, ice and snow. However, more than 130,000 has been raised since the appeal began at the end of January.

The trust revealed yesterday that about 2,600 individual donations were made, which will help pay for the cost of burst pipe repairs, leaking roofs, flooding, damaged estate grounds and fallen trees.

NTS normally spends around 1.5 million a year on repairs and maintenance to its 130 flagship properties. Among the worst-affected in the winter were the Mar Lodge Estate and Drum Castle, both in Aberdeenshire, Threave Garden and Estate, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Inverewe Garden, in the West Highlands, and the island of Canna, in the Inner Hebrides.

The trust had to mount its own fund-raising campaign because it does not receive money from the Scottish Government, which earlier this month stepped in with a 300,000 bail-out to help theatres and other arts bodies after the severe weather saw concerts cancelled and ticket sales slump.

NTS - which boasts 310,000 members - has had well- documented financial problems in recent years, forcing it to shed 45 jobs and mothball some sites.

An independent review recommended it scale back the number of properties it looks after, either by handing responsibility to other organisations or selling them off.

At the time the appeal was launched, the organisation warned that its staff were uncovering a "long and growing list of damage".

But a spokeswoman said: "At the moment, we've made 133,000 and counting. Our target was 100,000, so we've exceeded that by some way. The appeal cost us just 4,000 to run, so it's an excellent return on investment. This generous support means we can help 20 properties recover from damage caused by the extreme winter weather." Among the work which will be carried out is replacing rare plant species at Inverewe Garden, repairing part of the roof at Drum Castle, which was badly flooded, and restoring a damaged pier at Canna.

Amy Gunn, marketing manager at NTS, said: "We are really pleased with the response to this campaign, which will help take care of some of the most urgent repairs.

"The public really sympathised with us, probably because they were struggling with exactly the same issues at home."