Ambitious plans have been unveiled to transform a Victorian home and Japanese pagoda on a Highland estate into a new public arts and education centre.
Nethy Bridge couple Ian and Elizabeth Boyd purchased the buildings at Grantown’s Moray Park in August 2014 – and now want to use them to give something back to local residents.
A cafe could be created, as well as space for range of activities, including music, dance cookery and foreign language classes, functions and film nights.
The pagoda – one of the only buildings of its kind in the north – was built for public use in 1997 by Peter Braun, a German architect who retired to Strathspey to pursue his love of fishing with his wife, Inge Braun, whose family was from Japan and Germany.
The couple lived in the villa but Mr Braun ended up using the building solely for his private collection of Japanese artefacts.
When Mr Braun died in 2006, his wife moved out of the home and the villa, which was built around 1900, and it has been lying falling into disrepair ever since.
But the Boyds have now lodged a planning application to bring them back to life.
Under the plans, a recital room in the pagoda would provide space for musical lessons and performances, while a room across the hallway will be converted into a space for holding local art exhibitions.
The couple also hope to convert the existing kitchen and pantry areas in the villa into a new bistro and cafe, with the hope of attracting a local chef who might want to start their own business and help create several jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.
An events manager graduate position will also be created as part of the project.
The plan is to let out the public rooms in the villa as offices, meeting and training rooms.
If planning permission is granted, the Boyds expect to spend about £200,000 on renovating the villa, and hope to have their project up-and-running as soon as possible.
The couple have already spent more than £1million developing luxury accommodation at the site, which provides beds for 18 people and contains the largest indoor private swimming pool in the Highlands.
This money has also gone towards sprucing up the estate’s gardens and restoring its Japanese bridges.
Mrs Boyd said: “We feel it is important to develop this asset in response to current and future opportunities. By doing so, we can contribute to making Grantown a destination town, similar to Pitlochry, by helping to promote traditional and contemporary exhibitions, events and learning experiences – including residential where possible.”