ROTHESAY’S Royal Hotel has been given a £4m funding injection from the UK Government to restore the building to its former glory and wrench an eyesore from the town centre.
The building will be fully renovated through the Westminster funding, plus a further £1m will be added to the package from its current owner, George Hanson.
Mr Hanson, director of George Hanson Building Contractors, told The Isle of Bute News this week’s announcement is the result of 14 years of hard work.
“Meetings after meetings, disappointment after disappointment. It’s been a long, long slog,” he said.
He praised Argyll and Bute Council for the hard work put in there.
“They have worked tirelessly to get funding for this. I’m very grateful.
“I’m completely over the moon.”
The major slice of the £4m funding comes out of a £20m award by the UK Government to Argyll and Bute Council from its Community Regeneration Partnership Fund (CRPF). This funding source is all about boosting opportunities and driving positive change across communities.
The CRPF aims to build on previous work by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) under the banner of Levelling Up Funding.
The Leader of Argyll and Bute Council, Councillor Jim Lynch, said: “This investment will provide a further welcome boost to the Argyll and Bute economy. The projects selected will not only improve the area’s infrastructure, but they will also help to create employment opportunities and strengthen community outcomes.
“This is an exciting time for Argyll and Bute, and I very much look forward to seeing these projects progress.”
The other projects in the package include more than £1m to redevelop a central part of Dunoon and Argyll Gardens.
There will also be a £100k package to develop the area surrounding the former Royal Hotel in Rothesay.
This all comes on top of an earlier £400k to scope the work needed at the Royal.
Welcoming the funding news, George Hanson said: “The Royal Hotel has a special place in my heart and in Rothesay’s history. Bringing it back to life will preserve an important piece of the town’s heritage, create investment in the area and contribute to the wider regeneration that is already underway.”
The refurbishment will create a commercial development, potentially a supermarket, on the ground floor.
There will be various forms of accessible and affordable homes on the floors above, including living space for essential workers and tourist accommodation.
There will be a central elevator, described as a key element of the project, and if further funding is secured, there could be enhanced development of the roof space.
George Hanson said architects have yet to be procured and a lot of heavy lifting still needs to be done before work can begin in earnest on the building in the spring or early summer next year.
“But the main funding is in place, we’ve got that secured. There’s just some more hoops to go through.”
