Argyll and Bute Council is inviting members of the public, shopkeepers and tenement owners along to a series of events next week to mark the completion of 13 years of successful town centre regeneration in Rothesay.
The £2.8 million Rothesay Townscape Heritage (TH2) scheme has made a transformational difference to the town centre since it started in 2017, including:
- Four priority buildings restored with a fifth due to be complete by the end of March 2024, including the council’s new Customer Service Hub in Victoria Street.
- Four shopfronts restored with a fifth due to be finished by the end of March 2024.
- Nine traditional window projects completed.
- Fourteen training and community engagement events involving school pupils and homeowners.
The TH2 scheme follows on from the council’s original Rothesay Townscape Heritage Initiative programme that focused on the east area of town centre including Guildford Square, Albert Place, East and West Princes Street from 2011 to 2016.
To mark the occasion, the council is hosting two events: one on Thursday 7 March aimed specifically at businesses and tenement owners, and one on Friday 8 March for the public.
The first event, on 7 March, will provide businesses and tenement owners with information about how best to look after their buildings. Specialist conservation architects will run informative workshops, looking at common problems, to give those in attendance advice on how to deal with them. This event will take place at The Bank of Ideas, High Street, Rothesay. Two sessions are available: 2pm until 3pm, and 5:30pm until 6:30pm. To book a place on either of these, please email cara.browning@argyll-bute.gov.uk or telephone 01586 559048.
The following day, Friday 8 March, the council is inviting members of the public along to a drop-in open celebration event at The Bank of Ideas, High Street, Rothesay, between 1pm and 4pm, to look back on what has been achieved with the investment, see examples of work, and chat with officers and specialist architects.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been a key partner in the Rothesay TH project, with the fund’s investment totalling almost £2 million in development and delivery support.
Rothesay TH is also partly funded by Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Argyll and the Islands LEADER Programme 2014-2020, Smarter Choices Smarter Places, and Argyll and Bute Council.
Councillor Liz McCabe, the council’s Policy Lead for Economic Development, said: “The drop-in event is a great chance for people to see the improvements that have been carried out to preserve Rothesay’s rich, historic townscape, while the workshops provide tenement and business owners the opportunity to chat with specialists and find out how best to look after their property.
“From providing training opportunities and helping to preserve traditional skills and buildings, to assisting people to safeguard their homes and providing opportunities for businesses, a lot has happened over the last few years.
"Rothesay has undergone a huge transformation and I hope that as many people as possible support these events and go along to see for themselves the benefits that this investment has had on the town.”