Plans for a memorial garden to mark the birthplace of a north-east industrialist have taken a step forward.
The Glover Birthplace – commemorating Thomas Blake Glover – is planned for 15-17 Commerce Street in Fraserburgh.
Before his death more than 100 years ago, Glover is credited with being a founding father of the industrial age in Japan – including playing in a role in the beginnings of a shipping firm which would grow to become Mitsubishi.
And Aberdeenshire Council has now found a north-east firm to create the memorial space, which is hoped to become a tourist attraction.
KW Contractors has been awarded the £74,000 work to transform the site into a Japanese-themed courtyard.
The plans, approved in October, are expected to take around 18 months to become a reality.
Council leader and Fraserburgh councillor, Andy Kille, said: “I am delighted to see the Thomas Blake Glover garden take another step forward.
“This will be a great amenity for the town as well as deservedly commemorating one of Fraserburgh’s residents who went on to make a huge impact with his life.”
The former homestead of the so-called Scottish Samurai at 15 Commerce Street no longer stands, with the site lying empty since the Second World War.
KW Contractors has been tasked with constructing “a high quality garden which will be of local historical interest and also function as a tourist destination,” the council contract states.
When finished, the council plans for a statue of the 19th century industrialist, artwork and specially-designed benches to be put in place.
While born in Fraserburgh in 1938, Mr Glover’s family moved to Aberdeen during his formative years, making a new home in Bridge of Don.
Mitsubishi bought the house in Balgownie Road in 1996, later gifting it to the Grampian-Japan Trust for use as a museum.
But the council, who took ownership of the site, closed the tourist attraction in 2012 due to a lack of visitors and rising costs.
But fleshed out plans are yet to be made public.
