Tag: Architectural Heritage Fund grant

Historic Portsoy harbour saved for future generations

THE beautiful and picturesque 17th century harbour of Portsoy in Aberdeenshire now has a secure future as a portfolio of six historic buildings at its heart has officially passed into the custodianship of the North East Scotland Preservation Trust (NESPT).  

This important milestone means the six buildings can now be developed to further enhance the wonderful setting, and rare historic harbour, for locals and visitors alike. The harbour attracts many visitors each year and has been the location for filming such as Peaky Blinders and the remake of Whiskey Galore!

However, a lot of the buildings have been out of use for decades and without a coherent plan for the area, risk falling further into disrepair.

The work to secure the legacy of these nationally important listed buildings, a gift from local benefactor Tom Burnett-Stuart, has been supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF). 

Whilst waiting for the bequest to transfer over, NESPT, with feasibility funding from the AHF, has been developing plans for how the disused buildings can complement two existing and operational holiday cottages that were also part of the legacy.

This work has been focusing on options to bring four currently underused or disused buildings back into productive use: the Marble Warehouse, the Marble Workshop, the Granary Building and the Rag Warehouse. These were buildings at the heart of the thriving harbour where grain, herring and salmon were exported mainly to the Baltics, and coal imported.

Marcus Humphrey, Chairman of the NESPT said: ‘Tom Burnett-Stuart’s generous legacy is now in our care, not only to safeguard these buildings for future generations but to create a new vision for the harbour that will revitalise the area whilst retaining what makes it so attractive.

“Tom was passionate about marble and was instrumental in reviving the industry to some extent locally, as well as having a passion for craft skills and obviously an eye for old buildings. 

‘Thanks to support and advice from the AHF, although we are at the early stages of our plans, we are making great progress as we develop a masterplan to make the best use of such a fantastic legacy through the buildings that are now in our care thanks to Tom’s generosity. 

‘But it is not just about finding new uses for the historic buildings at the heart of Portsoy, we will also create a wide range of training opportunities during the restoration process, particularly aimed at getting young people involved.’

In particular, plans are now being shaped up to develop The Marbles Creative Hub. This will be in what was the former Marble Warehouse and the Marble Workshop. 

The conversion of these two historic buildings will create much needed facilities for artists and people working within the creative industries. 

As part of the development planning NESPT have undertaken extensive consultation with local groups, and in particular artists and makers, which revealed an unmet need for studio and workshop spaces to rent.

Visitors and the local community will be able to meet the makers and artists while at work (where appropriate), take part in arts and crafts workshops and purchase arts and crafts created by the artists in the various studio spaces.

It will be a flexible space for a wide range of different forms of art and community-based activities such as school engagement, incubator space, small parties, adult education, and fun arts-based workshops. 

Matthew Mckeague, Chief Executive, of the AHF said: ‘We are delighted to support NESPT in what is a fantastic opportunity to bring such a large number of heritage buildings in one place back into community use.

“Projects such as this demonstrate the regeneration potential for reusing historic buildings, and that ‘placemaking’ processes often associated with urban areas can also revitalise smaller communities. 

‘Using our decades of experience in helping organisations bring old buildings back into new uses, as well as feasibility funding grants we run with Historic Environment Scotland, we are delighted to be part of the journey at Portsoy and are excited to see the impacts it will have on this beautiful part of Scotland.’

Award-winning architecture firm appointed by group working to save The George Cinema in Portobello

Glasgow-based, award-winning architecture firm Loader Monteith has been appointed to lead a design team undertaking detailed feasibility work on a community cinema project in Portobello,

The commission, by The Friends of George (FoTG) group, is supported by the award of a grant from The Architectural Heritage Fund.

The design team’s work will dovetail into an in-depth commercial and operational assessment being undertaken by independent cinema consultants, Mustard Studios, whose work is being funded by a grant from the Scottish Land Fund.

Loader Monteith approached Stefanie Fischer, a leading cinema architect within the UK’s independent cinema sector to join their team as a subconsultant. Her expertise as a cinema architect complements the expertise of Loader Monteith Architects as conservation architects.

The appointment of the Loader Monteith led team builds on a long running campaign by FoTG who have been working to save the art deco former cinema from demolition. With strong support from within their community, FoTG hope to acquire and restore the C-listed building, and operate it as a cinema for the community. These latest commissions will develop and refine the group’s ambitious plans and will also include input from educational and film industry partners.

Mike Griffiths, Friends of the George Chair said: “We are delighted to be able to appoint such an expert team of professionals to develop and refine our proposals as we continue to point the way towards a positive future for The George not only in the heart of the community of Portobello, but more broadly, to play a role in the cinema sector in Scotland.

“The consultants we have working on this bring extensive expertise and experience to the project and will be led by a firm of architects with a burgeoning reputation for exciting contemporary architectural design, deployed to breathe new life into historic buildings.

“We’re extremely grateful for the financial support we have received from the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Scottish Land Fund and our benefactor Victoria Schwab.”

Iain King, Specialist Conservation Architect and Director at Loader Monteith, said: “We are pleased to have been selected as the lead architects, alongside our expert team of consultants, to support the Friends of The George in developing the proposal for the George Cinema.

“Despite the building currently being on the Buildings at Risk Register, it benefits from strong community support and the dedication of the Friends of The George, a group committed to preserving this Art Deco gem and restoring it as a sustainable, independent cinema.

“We look forward to collaborating with them on this important project.”

Last year, Friends of The George Limited had the cinema building formally valued by a firm of professional surveyors and made an offer to purchase it as a “restoring purchaser”, based on that valuation. Funds for purchase were very generously offered by benefactor, writer V.E Schwab.

This offer was rejected by the current owners of the building who have tried – and failed – twice in recent years to secure consent to substantially demolish The George and develop the site with luxury flats.

Most recently, last October, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) published their decision notice on the application by the current owner to have The George ‘delisted’.  HES confirmed that the building continues to meet the criteria of special architectural and historic interest and so there will be no statutory change to the current ‘C’ listing designation.

Recent silent, community protests, independent of the FoTG group, have called on the current owner of the building to clear up the mess outside of the cinema and to address the continued neglect and dereliction of the building.