By Sandra Gray

AN ERROL business gutted by a blaze earlier this year will soon be given a new lease of life.

The owners of Perthshire Caravans have lodged an application with Perth and Kinross Council for a new showroom, which they hope will be completed by the beginning of next year.

It will replace the steel building destroyed by a fire in May, which is now due to be removed from the site later this month.

At 4750 square metres, the proposed building will be about 50% larger than the existing one and have a range of modern touches.

Director Ian McCormack said, “The actual showroom area will be twice the size of what it was and much improved, with a lot of natural light.

“It was a bit of a shock to lose everything in the fire, so everyone is quite excited about this and it can’t go up soon enough.

“However, it will take a bit of time as we are waiting to go through the rigmarole of planning but we are hoping that building will begin in September.”

As well as a larger, new-look showroom, the site will include a large customer waiting area, a paint shop and reception area.

The company has been able to trade since the blaze, which engulfed around three-quarters of the building and caused millions of pounds worth of damage.

Business has since been conducted from portable offices, with workshop facilities still operating in unaffected onsite buildings.

“We are really looking forward to the new building and now want to take the company forward by making this a really nice place to come and look around,” Mr McCormack added. “We are just looking to take something positive from the fire and build a state-of-the-art facility.”

One of the area’s best-known family businesses, Perthshire Caravans was established in 1936 by former Dundee fruit salesman, Peter McCormack, the father of the present owners.

As well as selling caravans, motor homes and static holiday homes, the company had a large accessories sales area at Errol. The company also owns several caravan sites.