Reserves doubled at 'more secure' NTS

THE troubled National Trust for Scotland has doubled its reserves to £8.5 million and says it is now in a "more secure" financial position than a year ago.

The heritage body's reserves last year were 4.1m.

Income from membership fees rose slightly to 10.4m, while the number of paying visitors was up by 7 per cent in 2009/10.

Last year, the trust sold its Edinburgh headquarters, mothballed three historic properties, and cut 88 posts as it struggled to balance the books.

It looks after more than 100 historic properties, showcasing Scotland's architectural heritage, which are expensive to maintain.

The latest accounts showed that an additional 2.7m was raised by increased visitor numbers, mainly as a result of the Burns National Heritage Park where the trust took over management the previous year.

Legacy income also rose substantially, to 5.9m, while wages and salaries were down by 3.2 per cent.

This was mainly a result of the redundancy programme that took place during the year, although the figure do not include the costs of that programme.

Lesley Watt, finance director of the trust, said: "The positive message to give is that the actions we took have delivered results.

"Last year with the recession imminent, we benefited from people staying at home and our commercial activities were up.

"It's given us a breathing space but we cannot be complacent about what the future holds. We have to ensure that financial sustainability always goes hand in hand with conservation."

Last year, George Reid, the former presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament promised a "robust and independent" review of the NTS. Mr Reid also said it is important that the trust's 310,000 members were consulted during the review.