Moat Brae is home to the terraced gardens that are said to have inspired J M Barrie’s classic children’s story about the free-spirited boy who never grew up.
Dating back to 1823 and built to a design by Walter Newall, the enchanting Georgian villa will now play host to a dedicated children’s centre for literature and storytelling that is expected to attract more than 250,000 visitors per year.
The Neverland-style complex, which overlooks the River Nith, features exhibition space, reading and play areas, a shop, a cafe and rooms available to hire for special events. A performance space has also been created in the garden, alongside a pirate ship, Lost Boy’s treehouse and mermaid’s lagoon.
There is also an attic recreation of the Darling children’s nursery, where visitors can attempt to catch Peter Pan’s shadow, or crawl through Nana’s kennel into a play theatre furnished with flamboyant dressing-up props.
Specialist flooring and screeding contractor IFT, which has offices in both East Kilbride and Bishop Auckland, and works with clients across Scotland and the North of England, installed 280 square metres of Vebro Polymers’ liquid-vinyl polyurethane comfort flooring system in Dusty Grey across a large sweeping atrium positioned at the entrance of the new centre.
vebroflex Comfort UV has been engineered to offer all of the performance benefits of durable, hygienic and easy to clean seamless resin flooring systems, but with the look, feel and comfort of vinyl.
The system delivers a cushioning effect underfoot for enhanced user comfort and incorporates a highly durable, wear and scratch resistant UV sealer that withstands heavy use from foot traffic as well as meeting R10 slip resistance requirements to ensure visitor safety underfoot.
The flooring system is formulated from natural biopolymers and meets stringent AgBB criteria for low emissions coatings. Self-smoothing, seamless, jointless and hygienic the expertly installed floor will provide both an easy to clean and maintain surface for the new centre.
As the name would suggest, IFT offers clients across Scotland and the North of England a fully integrated flooring service ranging from floor screeding and levelling through to installing underfloor heating pipework and seamless resin-based floor toppings.
Founded in 1985 by James Love, the company has been involved in some of the most prestigious construction projects north of the border including work for National Museums Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service, Edinburgh Airport and Education Scotland.
Speaking of the new attraction, Dame Barbara Kelly, chairman of the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust, said,
“We’re hugely grateful to all the many individuals and organisations who have come together to make our dream come true by saving Moat Brae and creating somewhere that children can play and let their imaginations roam free – just as J.M. Barrie’s did.”
Dame Barbara Kelly, Chairman, Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust
Originally written as a play, the much-loved story of the boy who could fly and his pirate adventures in Neverland with the Lost Boys and the Darling children, was first published as a novel, Peter & Wendy, in 1911.
The book has gone on to sell over 85 million copies in 29 different languages, as well as being made into 13 films worldwide.
The new centre operated by the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust aims to create a world where reading and storytelling are an integral part of growing up.
For more information on the service provided by IFT (Integrated Flooring Technologies) visit, www.ift.co.uk. Explore the benefits of vebroflex Comfort UV and the other specialist flooring solutions available from Vebro Polymers at www.vebropolymers.com
