THE group behind ambitious plans for the Barony A Frame are celebrating an amazing £250,000 windfall this week.

Lottery chiefs confirmed that the Barony A Frame Trust would be given the cash to continue their two-phase project to develop land adjacent to the towering structure.

It means that in the space of a week, groups in Auchinleck have received £500,000 after the Auchinleck Community Development Initiative picked up a similar figure.

As well as the money from the Big Lottery Communities Spaces Fund, the Trust are also getting £36,000 from the Mineral’s Trust in what is a major coup for the group.

The grants are the culmination of around two years work which has seen the Trust carry out consultation exercises and a feasibility study to find out what local people wanted to see at the site.

The resounding response was that they wanted to see outdoor activities and improved access to the surrounding countryside.

The Trust put together a long-term plan to provide a footpath link to the existing footpath network, additional interpretation materials, a cycle track and a group of volunteer guides.

Chair Barney Menzies said: “'Funders were approached for both phases of the works.

“We were successful in securing all of the funding for stage one of the project jointly from Ayrshire LEADER and the Minerals Trust but had a considerable wait to hear about phase two funding. On the last day of phase one works we received a letter from the Lottery offering us funding, we were all delighted.

“The Trust is hoping that local people will become more involved in the development of the project.

“We will be asking cyclists, particularly the local cycle club to help us with the design and testing of the cycle track.

“And we’ll be getting out to groups to give talks and recruit volunteers. We anticipate phase two works starting around the end of May. This is to allow all the legal documents and paperwork to be completed before we start construction.” The primary aim of the project is to increase use of the site and ensure the future of the A Frame.

In addition the Trust wants to provide opportunities for the local community to engage with visitors as volunteers and pass on their knowledge of the area. Volunteers will be trained in a range of skills which could lead to employment in a number of industries such as tourism or volunteer organisations.