Museum set for £300,000 funding boost to transform garden

The Arbroath Signal Tower Museum is set to benefit from more than £300,000 to transform the facility’s garden.

The landmark beside Arbroath harbour originally served as the shore station for the Bell Rock lighthouse.

Now, the Tay Cities Region joint committee has awarded the museum £320k from its Tay Cities Region Deal’s Regional Culture and Tourism Investment Programme.

The funds will be used to transform the museum’s garden into an accessible, multi-functional public space for education, community activities and events.

An accompanying report – presented to the joint committee – outlined some of the proposed improvements to the garden area, including a new public entrance from the Angus Coastal Path directly into the museum grounds.

The project will also see a new viewing point with a telescope overlooking the lighthouse and a fully accessible outdoor learning space.

The report also outlined that the project is due to be completed and open to the public by April next year.

Angus Council leader and chair of the Tay Cities joint committee, George Meechan, hoped that the proposals would help boost the number of visitors in the area.

He said: “The approval of the Business Justification Case for the Arbroath Signal Tower Garden Project is an important step forward for Angus.

“As a nationally significant Category A Listed building and former shore station for the internationally renowned Bell Rock Lighthouse, it’s an important part of Angus’s heritage.

“Its location beside Arbroath Harbour and the Angus Coastal Path makes it an important part of the town’s visitor offer.

“The project will allow much better use of the museum garden, creating an accessible and welcoming space for visitors and local people, as well as providing opportunities for community activities, events and outdoor learning.

“It will enhance the experience for those visiting the Signal Tower and help attract more people to Arbroath, supporting local businesses and the wider economy.”

The Signal Tower was built in 1813 as an operations base for the Bell Rock lighthouse.

It housed the families of keepers based on the Inchcape rock.

Robert Stevenson’s structure remains the world’s oldest sea-washed lighthouse still in operation.

The name comes from the signalling apparatus of a ball hoisted up and down a pole to alert the lighthouse keepers.

The Signal Tower was decommissioned in the 1970s and became a council museum almost 20 years later.