Relief as doors finally open on new cinema
First time well-known Fort William building has been on the market in its entirety
Highland Cinema, Fort William, will open tomorrow (Friday) despite a few last minute concerns over stricter Covid-19 restriction announcements.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Monday that a tightening of restrictions was imminent as a result of a rise in cases but did not release details until Tuesday afternoon causing an anxious wait for founder/ chairman Angus MacDonald and his staff.
‘Two years of graft, the bureaucratic nightmare of a large building project, two months of never ending rain last winter, then the devastation caused by Covid-19, everything has been thrown at us...but we are here for the long term,’ he said.
‘In Scotland, Covid restrictions for cinemas requiring two-metre distancing is an anomaly. On a plane you sit right beside strangers and in a bar it is one-metre distancing, without a mask. But a single customer at our cinema will have 12 empty seats around them. A financial challenge for us, but with 22 recently hired employees and an encouraging local community, I will be proud to be cutting the ribbon to open The Highland Cinema tomorrow.’
Work on the High Street development, which was originally due to open on May 9, had already been hampered by lockdown restrictions but careful planning and rescheduling of pending work was undertaken to ensure a safe working environment for all contractors and work resumed in mid-June.
Designed by Skye-based architects Dualchas, Highland Cinema is situated on the High Street at the top of Cameron
Square and the traditional, stone-built building is causing a real buzz around town and beyond.
‘I’m loving the feedback about the cinema from within Lochaber. There really is huge support. All we have to do now is deliver a great night out for our customers,’ added Angus.
It has two screens, one with 100 seats and one with 85 seats, as well as a large cafe with a log burner. It also boasts a terrace looking out on to the square that can seat 16 people.
‘I can’t wait to see a line of happy people waiting to get in the cinema,’ said Angus.
Meanwhile, ALVANCE British Aluminium has committed £20,000 to ensure all Lochaber residents can apply for a free annual membership card, which entitles them to a 30 per cent discount off tickets throughout 2021, excluding June to September.
Tom Uppington, managing director, said: ‘It’s great news
‘Everything has been thrown at us...but we are here for the long term’
One of Lochaber’s most wellknown buildings has been put up for sale in its entirety for the first time in more than a century.
St Andrews House on Fassifern Road, which sits prominently overlooking Fort William town centre, has served various roles in the community, latterly acting as a home for several well-known families and as a popular guest house.
It was originally built as a choir school for nearby St Andrews Episcopal Church in 1880.
In 1918 the church, unable to maintain its upkeep, split the building into an east and west wing. The west wing, which was the school, was converted into a dwelling house, whilst the east wing remained unchanged as it was the headmaster’s residence.
The property was then sold as two separate houses. They remained the same until both properties were bought by the same family in 1992. The two houses were reunited in the year 2000 when the original door between the two houses was re-opened.
The B-listed property is currently owned by Thomas and Sheena Wynne and run as a nine-bedroom guesthouse.
The Wynne family were wellknown Lochaber stalwarts, running the town’s popular butcher shop and its delivery vans to outlying communities for three generations.
St Andrews was always known to have an open door policy, where fondly remembered ceilidhs, Christmas parties and family occasions were celebrated, usually accompanied on the piano by the late Monsignor Thomas Wynne, former parish priest in Oban, Arisaig and Roy Bridge.
Current owners Tom and Sheena said: ‘We will be very sad to leave it but we do so with all the happy memories we have made here over many years. We’ve had some wonderful times here.
‘When you’re lucky enough to live in a property like this – because it’s such a beautiful and prominent building, with all the history that comes with it – you always know you’re really only looking after it, to pass it on to the next generation. We always felt a bit more more like custodians than owners.
Tom added: ‘I lived with the family in the east side as a boy and in some respects coming back to the west side of the house with my own family was like coming home. We were very lucky we could join the two houses together again.’
St Andrews House was designed by noted architect Alexander Ross, former Provost of Inverness, who is responsible for a large number of listed buildings in the city of Inverness, including the cathedral.
Reflecting the prominence and means of St Andrews Church at the time of its initial building, the property is a grand gothic-style granite and sandstone rectory with intricate archways and stone carvings running throughout the outside and inside.
While renovating parts of the west side, which was formerly the choir school, Mr and Mrs Wynne exposed and restored, where possible, some of the original wood work and stone work, including numerous inscriptions of psalms dotted around the building’s archways, fireplaces and main doorways.
The original features and the history of the building are rare to find in today’s property market, according to Katie Lamont, property director at MacPhee and Partners, which is selling the house at a guide price of £720,000.
She said: ‘I am delighted to have the opportunity to market such a unique and historic Fort William property.
‘St Andrews is truly stunning with so much character and charm throughout. Its ability to be reverted back to two independent dwellings or be kept as one large dwelling makes it a very interesting prospect for a purchaser.’