Tom Burnett-Stuart owned a range of historic, listed buildings around Portsoy’s Old Harbour, which was built in 1692 and is category A listed by Historic Environment Scotland.
In a remarkable act of generosity and care for the people of Portsoy, Tom left the buildings in his will to be conserved and revitalised by the North East Scotland Preservation Trust (NESPT).
In addition, Tom’s bequest includes two self-catering holiday cottages at the Old Harbour, three cottages in Whitehills, and a “sizeable” sum of money to be used to protect the architectural integrity of the Old Harbour.
As well as protecting and conserving the buildings, the bequest secures the viability of the NESPT for the foreseeable future.
Following public consultation and a full Options Appraisal exercise, proposals have been developed to bring the unused buildings back into productive use.
It is hoped that the Corf House (Marble Warehouse) and the Marble Workshop can be redeveloped as a Creative Hub providing artist studios and craft workshops for rent.
To boost tourism it is planned to develop high quality self-catering apartments and retail outlets in the Granary and the Rag Warehouse.
