Consultees on Battle Trust's Vision have spoken both literally and e-wise ...

Vision for Victory Consultation gives us Good Advice, as to be expected!

www.visionforvictory1745.org

Well, our local communities have spoken through our month long Consultation cycle. Proud local residents, historians and embroiderers have all had their say. And we are well advanced with formal presentations at our three Community Councils although some of their Councillors came to the Open Consultation Session in Prestonpans Town Hall on May 8th as did STV. STV delighted us by sharing our story on prime news time to over a million viewers. Radio Forth, local and national press and social media all joined in. Discussions are continuing with East Lothian Council's Head of Communities Sharon Saunders, Economic Development Susan Smith and Provost John Macmillan as well as with Iain Slater at Hargreaves and CEO Malcolm Roughead and colleagues at VisitScotland.

The almost universal opinion is that the Living History Centre should be located close to the battlefield and sensibly also close to the A1. The Trust was advised to eschew the Heritage Museum as too far away from the battlefield and confusing in its clear industrial context. That incidentally is also in line with what the Heritage Lottery Fund commented in 2017 when we explored locating at the BathHouse.

The suggestion for Scotland's first and only statue of The Prince being a key feature certainly captured the media's attention.

There's not been a single NIMBY comment, yet! Rather there's a clear understanding that the opportunity to create something very exciting is within our grasp as long as we sustain the momentum. By taking the Jacobite saga as the backdrop with The Prince's stunning Victory in Prestonpans as the highlight it not only better informs the fans of Outlander but it matches the nation's School Curriculum.

But of course the Living History Centre will have an even broader scope with our Prestonpans Battle and the Scottish Diaspora tapestries both displayed. These have attracted nigh on 750,000 visitors on tours to approaching 100 exhibitions since 2010.

And let's not forget that proximity to the battlefield means protecting that which we have already heavily interpreted. More than 13,000 signatories were provided online when that was threatened three years ago by the InchCape SubStation.

N.B. The opportunity to comment online at www.visionforvictory1745.org will remain open until the end of June.