Birkwood Estates have announced the commencement of works on site at Birkwood Castle, Birkwood Village in Lanarkshire.
The Castle which suffered partial collapse last year, is one of Scotland’s most breath-taking examples of gothic architecture. It is the centerpiece of an £80m regeneration scheme within the country estate.
MBE Construction (North) Ltd won the contract to undertake the first phase of the work to implement the “wind and watertight” stage thereby avoiding further deterioration and securing the Castle’s long term future.
The wind and watertight works form part of the conditions of the planning permission granted for renovation and the extension of the Castle into a new boutique hotel. The first phase contract period is 26 weeks, after which the refurbishment and new build phases are scheduled to start.
The contract period for the completed development is scheduled for 2 years.
The new £15 million boutique hotel and apartments currently being developed will be known as Birkwood Castle Resort and will open in spring 2019. It will offer 56 spacious, elegantly appointed guestrooms, all en-suite along with leisure facilities, a spa and wellness centre, ballroom, bar and restaurant, and modern meeting and event spaces for conferences, private functions and weddings. It is proposed that the leisure scheme will also include woodland lodges.
Birkwood Village will become a destination resort which will attract international visitors to the area and create new employment opportunities throughout the construction phase. Once open for business, it will be a major employer in the region creating jobs in the catering, food and beauty sectors as well as opening various new revenue streams for local businesses.
Mike Roberts – Director for Birkwood Estates said: “After working with the Local Authority for the last 4 years, we are delighted to announce that we are now deploying a scheme that combines the old Birkwood Castle with a new modern extension. Once open, we hope Birkwood Castle and Birkwood village will satisfy the demand for high quality stays within Scotland.”