Skip to content

Architect appointed for fire-ravaged Fair Isle Bird Observatory

BBC The blaze at the Fair Isle Bird ObservatoryBBC
Fire struck the famous research centre in March

An architect has been appointed to plan the rebuilding of the famous Fair Isle Bird Observatory after it burned down earlier this year.

The internationally-renowned research centre in Shetland was destroyed in March.

No decisions have yet been made about the layout or construction of the new observatory.

However, the directors hope to have detailed drawings ready for a planning application in early Spring next year.

fair isle
The observatory was completely destroyed

The aim is to have the new observatory built in time for the 2021 season.

Director Karen Hall said it was an opportunity to make it even better than it was before.

Fair Isle - a remote island between Orkney and Shetland - is three miles long, one-and-a-half miles wide, and has a population of just over 50.

It is famed for its knitwear, its place in the shipping forecast and migratory birds.

Fair Isle is viewed as being one of the best places in Europe to see rare birds that stop off for a rest and feed along their migration routes.