ROTHESAY’S eyesore Royal Hotel is to get a major financial injection to help transform it into a refreshed site, bringing back some shine to the Madeira of the Clyde.
The £400k investment from the Scottish Government’s Islands Programme will enable Argyll and Bute Council to begin substantial planning to redevelop the property.
It is part of a package of individual investments that are currently opening on Bute, helping to pave the way to greater island opportunities and options for business, residents and visitors.
The consultant leading the changes at the island’s business development body, the Bute BID, is welcoming the Royal Hotel investment.
Phil Prentice said the funding would help refresh Rothesay.
“This is a starting point to potentially significant investment for capital schemes”, he told The Isle of Bute News.
“The Royal Hotel investment, through the Islands Programme, is part of a £6m award to community-led projects across Scotland’s islands.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “Our island communities are bursting with ambition, innovation and potential, and the Scottish Government is committed to supporting local priorities and long-term sustainability.
“This is a fine example of how we can work together with communities and local authorities to boost island economies in ways that are sustainable and generate revenue that can be reinvested locally.”
The award to help pave the way for the development of the Royal Hotel could eventually deliver much-needed opportunities for the centre of Rothesay to flourish. Crucially, it will remove the current eyesore that blights Bute as passengers drive or step off the CalMac ferry.
Historic Scotland describes the Royal Hotel building as ‘an externally well-detailed Classical hotel with shops and licensed premises at ground level, occupying a highly prominent corner position on Rothesay sea-front, directly opposite the ferry terminal’.
“It groups well with the other buildings on the terrace and makes a strong contribution to the streetscape.”
The building has been in a state of disrepair for many years and there have been a number of restoration or repurposing proposals over time.
The Royal Hotel is recognised as a historic landmark in Rothesay.
Renovating and repurposing the building will preserve its architectural heritage and help to provide what has been described as a much-needed focal point to help boost local engagement
and tourism.
