Residents, shopkeepers, and tenement owners in Rothesay are being invited to celebrate 13 years of work to regenerate the town.

To mark the occasion, Argyll and Bute Council is hosting two events across Thursday, March 7 - aimed at businesses and tenement owners, and one on Friday, March 8 for the public.

The first event will provide businesses and tenement owners with information about how best to look after their buildings through workshops run by specialist conservation architects.

This event will take place at The Bank of Ideas on High Street with two sessions available, one from 2-3pm and one from 5.30-6.30pm.

The following day the council is welcoming the public to a drop-in open celebration event, to look back on what has been achieved, see examples of work, and chat with officers and specialist architects.

This will take place between 1pm and 4pm and will also be held in The Bank of Ideas.

Councillor Liz McCabe, policy lead for economic development and an Isle of Bute ward councillor, said: “The drop-in event is a great chance for people to see the improvements that have been carried out to preserve Rothesay’s rich, historic townscape.

“The workshops provide tenement and business owners the opportunity to chat with specialists and find out how best to look after their property.

“From providing training opportunities and helping to preserve traditional skills and buildings, to assisting people to safeguard their homes and providing opportunities for businesses, a lot has happened over the last few years.

"Rothesay has undergone a huge transformation and I hope that as many people as possible support these events and go along to see for themselves the benefits that this investment has had on the town.”

The £2.8 million Rothesay Townscape Heritage [TH2] scheme started in 2017 and resulted in numerous developments within the town.

These include four priority buildings restored with a fifth due to be complete by the end of March 2024, including the council’s new Customer Service Hub in Victoria Street.

Four shopfronts restored with a fifth due to be finished by the end of March 2024 and nine traditional window projects completed.

Fourteen training and community engagement events involving school pupils and homeowners.

The TH2 scheme follows on from the council’s original Rothesay Townscape Heritage Initiative programme that focused on the east area of the town centre, including Guildford Square, Albert Place and East and West Princes Street, from 2011 to 2016.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been a key partner in the Rothesay Townscape Heritage project, with the fund’s investment totalling almost £2 million in development and delivery support.

Rothesay TH is also partly funded by Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Argyll and the Islands LEADER Programme 2014-2020, Smarter Choices Smarter Places, and Argyll and Bute Council.

To book a place for one of the Thursday workshops, email cara.browning@argyll-bute.gov.uk or telephone 01586 559048.