An “iconic” north-east building has undergone a facelift with the restoration of its four historic clocks.
A team of specialist steeplejacks were brought in to return the timepieces to the tower at Strichen’s town hall.
They now have new hands, fresh gilding and the chimes, which will once more ring out every hour between 8am and 8pm, have been repaired.
The 19th century building was once on the council’s books but was taken over by the Strichen Community Park group last year.
They are hoping to turn the A-listed town house into a fully-fledged heritage centre.
Director Hebbie Fowlie said they chose to fix the clocks first so villagers could see the group was serious about transforming the structure.
He said: “We could have begun work internally, but we felt that if we actually did up the clock faces first and got it going it would let people know there is something serious happening.
“I think that plan has succeeded and there is now a realisation that this project is happening.
“People in the village and visitors can see the refurbished clock faces and can hear the clock chiming from eight o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock at night.
“It has been years since it last chimed.
Mr Fowlie, who runs the village’s historic butchers, said it is all part of their plan to transform the fortunes of the town hall.
“We have an open day at the town hall next Saturday and the idea is to show the plans to people and get their feedback,” he said.
“It is our intention to redevelop the whole building. There is a lot of local history here and we want to turn it into a heritage centre.
“We are going to build an extension to allow for disabled access and will apply for grants to refurbish the whole property.”
Michelle Paterson, chairwoman of Strichen and district community council, said it was “great” to have the clock faces back.
She said: “They are an iconic feature of the village. Without the clocks there it felt as though something was missing from the community.
“Now they are back and it is great.”
The Strichen town hall open day is being on Saturday March 17, between 10am and 2pm.
