Bid to expand Lockerbie disaster visitor site

A community group wants to take over the tiny memorial room to expand and enhance it

A community group hopes to create a "lasting legacy" from the Lockerbie disaster near the spot where the nose cone of Pan Am Flight 103 came to rest.

Tundergarth Kirks wants to take ownership of a tiny memorial room and old church ruins for £1.

A Dumfries and Galloway Council committee is being asked to agree to the transfer of the property.

The group hopes to enhance the visitor experience and allow people to "spend a tranquil period of contemplation".

The memorial room - which is just 11 square metres in size - is located within Tundergarth Cemetery, less than three miles (5km) from Lockerbie.

It is dedicated to the victims of the 1988 bombing which claimed the lives of 270 people.

The memorial room is located near where the nose cone of Pan Am Flight 103 came down

Tundergarth Kirks wants to take over ownership of the room and the nearby Auld Kirk Ruin.

It wants to "keep alive" the story of Pan Am Flight 103 by developing and enhancing the site.

That would see the creation of a link to the church to offer a year-round facility for both the local community and visitors to the area.

Since the opening of the memorial room in 1990, it is estimated 50,000 people have visited - with the hope that those numbers will grow as Covid pandemic travel restrictions ease.

The community group believes it would be able to draw down external funding to carry out the expansion and improvement work.