A forgotten part of one of Angus’s most popular former hotels has been salvaged by a businessman.
The once proud and thriving Royal Hotel on Forfar’s Castle Street has lain abandoned and derelict for around three years following its closure in 2010.
The dirty windows, boarded up doors and missing letters of the hotel’s sign are an eyesore in the bustling town centre but one Angus man could be set to turn that around after taking over a vacant unit at the back of the building and giving it a complete makeover.
Now, when residents walk past the building, they will no longer cast a nostalgic glance at the Royal “Hoel” but will instead be struck by the bold red sign and black and white parallel lines of a new hairdressing salon called Blondies.
Owner Alan Hampton, the man behind the town’s Bar 10, said he was happy to have played a part in resurrecting the part-derelict site which represents such a significant part of the town’s history.
“I’m feeling brilliant about it now that it’s all done and it looks awesome,” said Alan.
“We have cleaned out the tunnel and car park, then we put the sign up. The good thing is that it was all Forfar tradesmen that did the work on it and I’m of the opinion that they are the very best you can get.
“It’s important that the people in the heart of the town support their own community.”
The unit had been closed for more than 20 years and had become “pretty horrible”, according to Alan.
However, when he was approached by a trio of hairdressers looking to set up shop, he decided to take the project on and is now looking forward to its opening.
He added: “The girls approached me in January about renting it out as I had previously bought it at an auction and wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“I let them see it and it was pretty horrible but I said I’d do it and do it right. I started to think about how to do it and it was my wife that came up with the idea of Blondies.
“All the girls have blonde hair and I’m a fan of the band, so it made sense.”
The stylish new salon is also set to further raise the profile of the town when it features on an upcoming episode of the BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer.
The programme is the organisation’s most-watched show on daytime TV and will feature a complete before and after of Alan’s purchase and renovation of the unit from auction room floor to the opening of the doors on the first day.
Alan said: “The auction was being filmed and they asked me if I would be interested in appearing on the programme.
“They did a before and after and also did some filming round about the area to highlight Forfar and its surroundings. They said they found it particularly welcoming, which is good too.”
The salon will open next Tuesday and feature on Homes Under the Hammer this year.
The Royal Hotel closed amid mystery in 2010 and resulted in the loss of around 20 full and part-time jobs.