A high-profile building in the heart of Perth has been transformed with the help of grant aid to restore historic properties in the city.
Scaffolding has now come down from the corner of High Street and George Street to reveal an elegant Georgian tenement built in about 1780 which has been worked on over the last few months by skilled local craftsmen.
The block at 1-3 George Street, which includes Ivory Whites Bridal Boutique and Williamson’s florist on the ground floor, benefited from a grant from Perth City Heritage Fund to help the owners’ association meet the costs of conservation work.
That work included removing the failing cement render and repairing the historic masonry with lime mortar, repairs to the roof, chimney and cast iron gutters and downpipes.
One of the biggest changes to the building has been to return the brightly painted sash and case windows to their original pattern and colour, including all the false windows which were discovered when the render was removed.
Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust’s conservation architect, Andrew Driver, explained: “This is not to do with window tax, these were part of the original design to give a regular rhythm to the frontages.”
The work has been carried out by Perth contractor One Call Ltd and overseen by Cupar architects, Arc.
Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust have been running the heritage fund since 2012 when Historic Environment Scotland rewarded Perth’s newly gained city status with a fund to assist owners of historic buildings in the city centre and Kinnoull conservation areas.
Since then, the fund has awarded more than 30 grants ranging from a few hundred pounds to over £200,000 to help owners repair and bring back into use historic buildings in the city of Perth.
One of the key reasons for this building receiving a grant was because the proprietors joined together to form an owners’ association.
Not all common repair schemes need to be as large and complex as this one, but the first step should be for the owners to get together to discuss the works and formally set up an association if anything more than the most minor repairs are needed.
Support for owners who would like to collaborate to organise their own repairs can be obtained by contacting either Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust or Perth and Kinross Council.
Earlier this year the trust was awarded £750,000 as a second tranche of City Heritage Funding from Historic Scotland to offer as grants.
The fund will run until 2018 and anyone interested in applying for a grant should initially contact Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust on 01738 477093.
To find out more about Perth City Heritage Fund go to www.pkht.org.uk.