Building skills in the spotlight

An event next week will put the spotlight on Scotland’s traditional buildings.

The Fife and Tayside Traditional Buildings Forum will host the free event on Perth’s King Edward Street from 10am until 4pm on Monday and Tuesday.

It will give members of the public an opportunity to see traditional building skills demonstrated by local apprentices.

They can also ask specific experts specific building conservation-related questions.

One of the major focuses of this year’s event is to inspire the future generation of builders by targeting secondary school pupils who are thinking about their career choices.

Five schools are taking part in the two days.

Sara Carruthers from Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust said: “The aim of the event is to raise awareness about the value of traditional building skills, the need to address the condition of Scotland’s traditional buildings and the opportunities available locally for owners to get help to do this.

“We are also pleased that we can help pupils in Perth and Kinross explore possible future career choices.”

One of the stalls at the event will be an information and materials event.

Representatives from Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust and Historic Environment Scotland will answer queries about traditional building repairs and the Perth City Heritage Fund.

Decorative painters and plasterers will also demonstrate their skills.

The event is being run by the traditional buildings forum, as well as Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Historic Environment Scotland, Perth College UHI, Braisby Roofing Ltd and Carte Blanche.