Borders environmental charity Tweed Forum has appointed Luke Fisher as project manager for the development phase of the Destination Tweed project, which aims to create a world-class tourism route based around the River Tweed.

The £20 million initiative is being developed in collaboration with Scottish Borders Council, with an aspiration to become one of the great long-distance routes in the UK, conserving, celebrating and promoting the Tweed from its source near Moffat to the sea at Berwick upon Tweed.

With a range of project management experience, including time as a senior grants officer for the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Mr Fisher will lead all aspects of the project’s development and provide support to its partner organisations as additional funding bids are developed.

Tweed Forum director, Luke Comins said: “Destination Tweed is one of the region’s most significant cultural and environmental projects so we’re delighted to have been able to recruit someone with Luke’s impressive credentials to oversee this next important stage in its development. We’re greatly looking forward to working with him on this flagship project.”

Partners involved in the Destination Tweed project are Tweed Forum, Scottish Borders Council, Northumberland County Council, South of Scotland Enterprise, VisitScotland, Sustrans, Dumfries and Galloway Council, SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage, Southern Upland Partnership, Buglife, Borders Forest Trust and Scottish Forestry.

The project was awarded a £299,000 development grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in March and Scottish Borders Council has allocated a further £175,000. Destination Tweed is also working towards an allocation of funding from the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal which has been established to support economic growth across the South of Scotland and North of England.