The builders of the new Observatory are announced
The Directors of FIBOT are delighted to announce that we have now secured a builder that now allows us to proceed with the building of Obs 5. Coupled with us now having been awarded substantial funding from the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, we will now be able to rebuild the Observatory next year.
We have appointed a company called IDMH to undertake the rebuild. They have been awarded the contract after a lengthy and rigorous tender process and we are pleased to welcome them on board for the Obs 5 project.
They have already visited the Isle for a number of days to start the necessary preliminary works and we have a completion date of October 2022. The building will again be of a modular construction being of a similar size to Obs 4 with a number of enhancements and improvements. We will post regular updates of our progress on this website to keep everyone informed of how the actual rebuild is proceeding.
The importance of the Obs both in conservation terms and its position within the Fair Isle community was clearly demonstrated by the funding we were able to obtain from a number of funders. Can I particularly thank all those who assisted us in, and contributed to, our Public Appeal which has now reached our target of £650,000. Without this money we would have been unable to proceed at present.
It is envisaged that we will reopen in the spring of 2023 to guests when we will then have all the relevant staff in place. I look forward to welcoming you all back then.
Douglas Barr, FIBOT Chairman
11th October 2021