Dounreay heritage initiative annual report 2020 to 2021
Updated 17 May 2022
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Dounreay heritage strategy
The Dounreay Heritage Strategy was published in 2010 and is managed by James Gunn, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd Heritage Officer with advice from a panel of external experts. The Heritage Advisory Panel held its 9th meeting on 26 March 2019. The 10th meeting was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is due to be held in June 2021.
Key activities for 2020 to 2021
Collection of objects
No objects were collected throughout the year.
A total of 448 objects have been collected since 2008 with numerous donated to the Caithness Horizons museum, the National Museum of Scotland and the Science Museum. Highlife Highland is now responsible for the collections in the Caithness Horizons museum, which is due to re-open in summer 2021 as the North Coast Visitor Centre.
Recording of history
A process to capture the memories of those leaving the site is in place and 3 forms were completed and returned. The guidance note for recording oral history has been revised in line with the latest guidance given by the UK Oral History Society. There are particular issues associated with the latest data protection regulations.
Knowledge sharing presentations
Talks about the early history of Dounreay were given to:
- Dounreay staff
- Thurso Camera Club
Educational studies
Dounreay, along with Sellafield and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), has pledged support to an international research project on nuclear heritage called NuSPACES. This will involve sharing/learning knowledge with representatives from Sweden, Lithuania and the UK, over a 3 year period starting in 2021.
NDA heritage initiative
James Gunn continued in the role as the NDA Heritage Officer and managed the NDA’s heritage initiative alongside his Dounreay duties as Information and Knowledge Manager. Each organisation is required to write their site history for inclusion into the NDA’s overall report on the history of the UK civil nuclear industry. James has started to draft sections with review and comment by experienced staff.
James wrote a conference paper about the NDA heritage initiative for an international conference organised by The International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage.