Former Irn-Bru factory to be transformed into teaching hub for heritage skills

Work to transform the derelict site of a former Irn-Bru factory into a national hub teaching heritage skills could be complete by spring 2027, Falkirk councillors have been told.

The new £12.9 million hub, which is planned at Lock 16 on the Forth & Clyde canal, will be a shared base for Scottish Canals and Heritage Environment Scotland, which will focus on traditional building and conservation skills.

Richard Miller of Scottish Canals told members of Falkirk Council’s executive this week that the project would create “a new vibrancy at the location”, which has been vacant since AG Barr closed the factory in the 1990s.

Mr Miller told councillors that the Falkirk area had been at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and that if you “scratch the surface those skills are still there”.

While the project is still in its early stages, he hinted that it could create exciting opportunities to celebrate Falkirk’s industrial heritage, including the possible return of the famous cannons made in the Carron Iron Works for refurbishment.

Historic Environment Scotland’s successful stonemason apprenticeships, currently based in Stirling, will move to Falkirk as part of the project.

Mr Miller said that the success of the recent open day at the former AG Barr’s factory, when more than 400 people visited “on a very wet day”, showed the interest there was locally in traditional skills.

He said: “The future of our canals depends on these skills – the future of our castles and our heritage depends on these skills.

“We have a community here that was at the very heart of that industrial revolution. You scratch the surface and those skills are here still – that interest is still here.

“The opportunity is here potentially to do all sorts of different things in that traditional skills space.”

The skills training, he said, would also be vital for future generations and to address the challenge of climate change on historic infrastructure.

Changes in climate not only have big impacts – such as when the banks of the Union Canal at Muiravonside were washed away by extreme rainfall – but also ongoing problems from more rain and frost which were having a gradual impact.

The project is expected to create fiive new permanent jobs within the centre and around 20 additional jobs created through related activity, 15 Modern Apprenticeships in stonemasonry and five in rural skills, as well as volunteering opportunities.

The £12.9 million project includes £4 million from the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal and Falkirk councillors welcomed the plans and approved submitting a full business case to the UK and Scottish Governments for the next stage of the project.