Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd -Viewfirth

Viewfirth

An imposing Victorian mansion on high ground in Thurso, Viewfirth was a former schoolmaster’s home that was acquired by the UK Atomic Energy Authority as part of the development of Dounreay in the 1950s.

The facility was located on the edge of land at Pennyland that was acquired by UKAEA for the construction of hundreds of new houses to accommodate the influx of workers.

Dounreay Sports and Social Club was formed by workers and the club rented the property from the UKAEA.

Extensions were made to the building and the club established itself as an important part of the social scene in Thurso during the 1960s and 1970s in particular.

By the turn of the century, however, the club was in decline and the building itself was suffering from structural defects. In 2006, the committee decided to wind up the club and hand back the property, which now belonged to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The cost of repairing the building was uneconomic, so the bulldozers cleared the site in 2007.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority invited Dounreay Stakeholder Group to bring forward a proposal to redevelop the site in community ownership.