Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Perthshire church bought by Dundee restaurant owners to be sold at auction

Lauren and Calum Runciman had planned to turn the property into luxury apartments.

Lauren Runciman and husband Calum bought Stanley Church in 2020. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson
Lauren Runciman and husband Calum bought Stanley Church in 2020. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

A Perthshire church that was bought by restaurant owners from Dundee is set to be sold at auction.

Lauren and Calum Runciman, owners of The Giddy Goose and The White Goose restaurants in Dundee, bought the former Stanley Church in 2020.

The couple planned to turn the building into luxury apartments.

However, the pair – who also run Black Mamba in Dundee – say they have struggled to find the time to balance the project with their other businesses.

Stanley Church could offer ‘amazing project’ when sold at auction

Lauren said: “We bought it during the height of lockdown when we had a lot of time on our hands.

“But we own a lot of businesses and after that, we just didn’t have the time to take it on – it needs a proper developer to come in.

“There have been plans drawn up and it would be an amazing project but we just didn’t have enough hours in the day for us to change it.

An external view of the church.
The church is more than 200 years old. Image: Online Property Auctions Scotland
A side view of the church.
Stanley Church could be redeveloped. Image: Online Property Auctions Scotland

“It’s a great development opportunity and it’s got the space for 12-14 luxury flats.

“We hope it goes to someone who can do something with it and it’ll look so much nicer when it’s all done up – similar to Stanley Mills.”

The 200-year-old church was previously sold off by the Church of Scotland after it was condemned following storm damage.

It is now set to go to auction on August 22 with a guide price of £55,000 to £65,000.

An interior staircase and windows.
A staircase inside the church. Image: Online Property Auctions Scotland
Lauren and Calum are selling up.

According to Online Property Auctions Scotland, the church has “numerous possible development options”.

This includes a wedding venue, creche, hotel, religious institution, residence or apartments.

The building features a church hall, function hall, kitchen, three WCs, two extra rooms and a bell tower.

Online Property Auctions Scotland says the church is “likely to attract interest from local and national developers seeking a bespoke opportunity to create something special”.

Conversation