Rothesay regeneration gets lottery funding
The scheme to regenerate Rothesay town centre has received a £1.9 million funding boost from the National Lottery.
The grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund means the seafront in the Isle of Bute town will now benefit from almost £3 million of repairs and improvements.
Argyll and Bute Council has already committed #200,000 to the scheme and #500,000 has also been secured from Historic Environment Scotland for investment in the town around Victoria and Montague streets.
Councillor Aileen Morton, leader of the council, welcomed the investment in the next phase of the regeneration scheme, which will be delivered between October 2017 and October 2022.
She said: Residents and visitors will see positive changes and the Townscape Heritage scheme is a clear demonstration of our commitment with partners, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, to regenerate the historic town centre.
Our aim is to attract people to come and live, work and do business in our town centres across Argyll and Bute, and attracting investment is a crucial part of our work in building prosperity.
We are looking forward to continuing the momentum and working closely with the local community and key partners, such as Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Bute Island Alliance, to make Rothesay attractive, well-maintained and vibrant once again.''
The funds will be used to repair five priority buildings, to repair traditional windows, to restore eight shopfronts and to improve town centre wayfinding signage and connectivity.
It was also deliver heritage and maintenance, and support creative industry activity, skills and capacity building programmes.
The work will complement efforts to renovate the town's iconic pavilion and build on the success of the first phase of the Rothesay Townscape Heritage Initiative, which saw over #3 million of investment between 2011 and 2016.
Lucy Casot, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: We are delighted to make this investment in Rothesay as part of our ongoing commitment to preserving Scotland's heritage in a way in which is relevant to the needs of today.'