Derelict Blackburn House becomes a focus for creativity

A GEORGIAN mansion which had been neglected for decades is set to become the future for creativity in West Lothian after being given a new lease of life.

A £3.6 million revamp of Blackburn House, which dates back to 1772, has been finished and will be handed over to new owners in a ceremony next month.

From being a derelict historic gem, the A-listed building will now become a focal point for the arts.

But it won't only be budding musicians and artists in the Lothians who will benefit from this project.

It is expected that the facilities offered will be taken up by Hollywood producers wanting to film period settings in a modern environment.

It will be taken on by Caledonian Arthouse, which runs a similar project in Glasgow, which will sub-let rooms to a variety of local organisations.

The project was overseen by the Cockburn Conservation Trust, whose director Una Richards said of the venture: "This wasn't an easy project – the biggest we've done in some time – and a lot of time and money went into it.

"But what we have now is a fantastic resource with fantastic facilities." She continued: "It is not easy these days for producers to film in period settings, because old buildings have health and safety issues and lack things like radiators.

"But one of the resources here will be a room that can be stripped down to a period setting for filming, while having all the modern facilities on hand."

Built in the 18th century by George Moncrieff, who made his money running plantations in the West Indies, the building originally acted as a gateway to Blackburn, the town which Moncrieff founded.

The trust ordered a feasibility study into the building in 2003, which found the creative arts was the best way forward.

"The advantage of being a conservation trust like ours is that we can take on projects that commercial organisations probably couldn't make stack up," Ms Richards added.

"Without the trust, the building, like so many others like it, would probably have fallen into disrepair and eventually been demolished.

"The wind and the rain has fallen on it and blown through it for years, but there was still some amazing plasterwork inside, and the purpose of this work was to restore as close to the original as we could."

When the building is officially unveiled on August 20, it will become one of the most enviable art hubs in Scotland.

Not only will offices house local arts projects, but there will also be onsite accommodation for anyone undertaking lengthy projects from further afield.

The 9000 square foot building, which lies between Livingston and Blackburn, will also contain digital media suites and recording studios.

It has been funded in a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, West Lothian Council, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian and the European Regional Development Fund.

• www.conservationtrust.co.uk