The fate of a historic former court house in Aberdeenshire will be put in the hands of locals next week.
The B-listed Stonehaven Sheriff Court, on Dunnottar Avenue, closed its doors in May last year and now members of the public are being offered the chance to decide on its future use.
Stonehaven Town Partnership (STP) has been granted £12,600 from the Heritage Lottery fund, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund to look into the potential of the building.
Ideas put forward so far include converting the front section into offices for local groups and the court rooms at the back into a heritage centre where people can learn how justice was administered in Kincardineshire.
The space could also be used for filming locations, or public debates.
The options will be discussed at a public meeting on Thursday .
Stonehaven Sheriff Court was one of 11 closed as part of a nationwide review by the Scottish Government, with its work load shifting to Aberdeen.
The building – which dates back to 1767 – is owned by the Scottish Court Service (SCS).
David Fleming, who is leading the STP court house project, said: “The prime purpose of the meeting is to encourage people to be interested in the court building. We have now got some funding to do some serious work and arrive at a business plan, and we have about a dozen ideas still very much on the table.
“The building divides into two parts. The front rooms are perfectly capable of being nice offices. Some of them could be used for businesses or studios or that sort of thing.
“The more difficult bit is the back of the building, there are quite a few constraints on what we can do in the number one court room.
“It is possible that it could be a mock court room for schools, or a film studio. Or we could use it for hearing public inquiries, or as a public speaking space.
“Another suggestion is we try and create some kind of visitor centre focusing on justice in Kincardineshire.”
The meeting at St James Church Hall on Arbuthnott Street will begin at 7pm.
