Project of the week

Located in rural Perthshire, Cultybraggan Camp is considered to be one of the best preserved purpose-built WWII Prisoner of War camps in Britain. Built in 1941, it housed up to 4,000 prisoners - first Italian and then high security German PoWs. The Ministry of Defence later used the site as a training camp for regular, part-time, and volunteer British Army units, with thousands of personnel passing through its doors right up until its closure in 2004.

In 2007, Comrie Development Trust acquired the camp and 90 acres of land under the Community Right to Buy legislation. It subsequently started out on a journey to preserve the site, with its 84 Nissen huts and additional post-1945 structures, and develop it into a multi-use community resource that would serve as a model of sustainable development for rural communities across Scotland. 

An initial phase saw the completion of site infrastructure works, as well as the development of some of the Nissan huts as holiday lets and business units to generate an income stream. The latest phase is focused on improving the jail block, which is used as a museum, and restoring a number of the other listed Nissan huts for use by local community groups, providing facilities and educational resources for both the community and visitors alike.

“This is a unique and challenging project that seeks to find ways to make what were only ever intended as temporary buildings sustainable and useful for a long-term future; the AHF is delighted to have been able to provide support and grant funding over many years.”

Jo Robertson, Scotland Grants Officer at the Architectural Heritage Fund