Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

How historic Banff building could play key role in restoring north-east trade

Post Thumbnail

A historic building that has fallen on hard times could play a key role in the restoration of a north-east trade.

The property at 49-53 Bridge Street in Banff has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2010.

The two storey B-listed property features a shop front dating from 1835, original windows and a side entrance.

Restoration charity the North East Scotland Preservation Trust (NESPT) hopes to buy it and convert it into a living space for trainee silversmiths based at the town’s Meal House, which is undergoing its own £1million revamp.

The Bridge Street project would mean repairs for the original roof timbers, the removal of asbestos sheeting from the roof and changes to the chimneys.

But it could cost as much as £450,000 and NESPT is applying for grants from the Architectural Heritage Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Aberdeenshire LEADER and Aberdeenshire Council Regeneration Fund to cover the restoration bills.

Paul Highson, project manager with the North East Scotland Preservation Trust, said: “We’re a charitable trust that exists to restore buildings of historical significance in Aberdeenshire and this one in Banff Conservation Area meets the criteria.

“It costs quite a lot of money to restore buildings like that and we will rely on grants from other bodies and the project will only go ahead if we can secure the money.

“We are applying for funding from a variety of sources.”

Mr Higson believes that if they can conserve the building it could be used by trainee silversmiths who are learning their trade just down the street. The once popular trade flourished in Banff between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Mr Higson said: “Further along Bridge Street there is a building which is being converted into a training base for silversmiths.

“That is likely to attract trainees from across Scotland so the intention is that we convert it into accommodation for them.

“We would have to put the work out to tender and we don’t have final costs at the moment.

“It is dependent on external funding and most organisations that provide funding to charities like ourselves are oversubscribed.

“I think it is a good project, but we will have to wait and see.”

A design team has been appointed to help with the Bridge Street scheme and they will apply for planning permission and listed building consent in January.