Plans for £25m motorsport centre at Rest and Be Thankful

A charitable trust is to be formed to push forward plans for a £25 million Scottish National Motorsport Heritage Centre at the historic Rest and Be Thankful hillclimb and rally stage in Argyll.A steering group has been guiding the plans for the project to create an underground centre to display cars and pay tribute to the Scottish motorsport heroes past and present.It would be set into the hillside near the classic hairpin at the top of the Rest and would involve tunnelling hundreds of tons of rock.An exhibition of the plans and a scale model of the centre opened at the Lighthouse arts and architectural centre in Glasgow today and over the next two months the public are being asked for their comments.The project is the brainchild of Douglas Anderson, the Dundee man responsible for the return of the Monte Carlo Rally to Scotland over recent years. His vision is that the centre, set within the dramatic hillside, would breathe new life into the popular stopping place and bring tourism spend and jobs to local communities as well as acknowledge the Rest as one of the most important motorsport locations in Scotland.The proposed building has been designed by architects Kennedy Twaddle Architectural Design to utilise the stunning vista at the summit of the glen – already a favourite stopping place.Although the company is based in London, two of the four specialists are Scottish and three of them trained at Duncan of Jordanstone College in Dundee, where one of them is still based, working on among other projects, part of the V&A on the city’s riverfront.The concept has already been given the backing of F1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, multiple British Touring Car Champion John Cleland and veteran Scottish rally driver Jimmy McRae.Discussions with officials from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, VisitScotland, Transport Scotland, MSPs and local politicians have been positive, with tourism chiefs aware the attraction would bring something unique to the area.The glass-fronted building is designed to sit below car parking and architects Chris Twaddle and Gary Kennedy say the attraction is respectful of the natural beauty of the site.The challenge now is to bolster support for the project and generate financial backing.