DOUGALL Baillie Associates (DBA) is helping with enhancements and an extension to one of three homes at the Cloch Lighthouse, south of Gourock on the Firth of Clyde.
The East Kilbride-based firm is working with Benjamin Tindall Architects on the project, having been tasked with providing structural and drainage design input for the alterations, as well as supporting the applications for building warrants and planning permission.
The B-listed Cloch Lighthouse is famous for having assisted ships as they navigated the Clyde through more than two centuries of leisure, trade, emigration, and war. It is one of the oldest coastal navigation edifices in Scotland, having been built in 1797 to warn ships off the Gantocks, a dangerous reef on the far shore of the Firth at Dunoon.
During World War Two, the light welcomed convoy ships and naval vessels home from battle zones all round the world.
The project is being undertaken for the lighthouse owner Duncan Telfer, former commercial director of Swire Pacific Offshore, who returned to Scotland last year when he retired after almost 40 years with the international marine services provider. He acquired the Keeper’s House in 1985, and the remaining land where the lighthouse tower stands in 1996 when the government privatised the sector.
Fergus Adams, MD of DBA, said, “As a consequence of its location, the Cloch buildings have stunning views across the estuary to the Argyll hills, and the works being undertaken will make the most of this enviable outlook. Benjamin Tindall Architects have obtained consent for the alterations and a transformational restoration of the derelict outbuildings at the lighthouse into a two-bedroom home, which will also enjoy the spectacular vista the complex affords.
“On this longer-term project, it is envisaged that the building will be revived in keeping with the historic main structure, using reclaimed materials and it is hoped that DBA will be able to assist with ongoing projects.”
