Meet our Drummond Arms regeneration team
Drummond Arms Regeneration Limited (DARL) was set up in 2019 by Crieff Community Trust (CCT) to take ownership of the Drummond Arms Hotel. DARL company objectives are to facilitate the refurbishment of the currently derelict old Drummond Arms Hotel in Crieff and to respond to the needs of the community of Crieff through the regeneration of the building.
DARL currently has two full directors - Ian Christie and Lucile Black.
John Warrander, Ailsa Campbell and David McCann are advisors to the board.
Stephen Oswald is the project manager.
DARL works with a range of external advisers and contractors to assist with the development of the building. See below for full details.
Ian Christie - Board Director DARL and CCT
Until recently Ian worked for a major civil engineering company, managing one of the country’s largest rock drilling and blasting divisions. He moved to Crieff 30 years ago primarily due to its central location, and ease of access to all parts of the UK. Married to Karen, who owns the Fun Junction toy shops in Crieff and Perth, they have brought up 4 daughters who have all now left home to follow their own careers, but continue to very much see Crieff as home and return as often as possible.
Lucile Black- Board Director, DARL
Lucile has 30+ years experience as a Chartered Surveyor in the private and public sector. She was Principal Property Adviser in the Scottish Government Property and Construction Division, for 20 years, providing professional property advice to Ministers and Scottish Government Directorates in formulating policies and legislature as well as NHS Boards, Agencies and Public Bodies. She has extensive involvement in the formulation of Community Empowerment Legislation, is a panel member for Forestry and Land Scotland Community Asset Transfer body, a member of Muthill Village Trust (currently working on a cycle path connection between Muthill and Crieff, and a new village hall) and Chair of Local Action Partnership (LAP) Strathearn and Strathallan, whose purpose is to tackle local inequalities by setting priorities to work for and with communities.
Ailsa Campbell - advisor to DARL board and Chair CCT
Ailsa moved to Crieff from Vancouver, Canada in 2000 to marry the local baker following the completion of her university studies in English and Communication Design. After a few years of commuting to work in design firms in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Ailsa set up and ran her own design business in Crieff before joining her husband in running his family’s bakery business in 2013. Ailsa was part of the original CCT steering group as well as the steering group for the Crieff BID and a BID board member for its full term. Ailsa is currently consolidating her business and community development experience by studying for an MBA at the University of Strathclyde, graduating in November 2023.
David McCann - advisor to DARL board and CCT CEO
David has been involved in the Third Sector for over 30 years and recently joined Crieff Community Trust as their new CEO. Prior to this he was founder and CEO of one of the largest participatory Arts organisations in the UK and went on to manage projects throughout Scotland, including the acquisition and repurposing of buildings of historic interest. He has chaired and been director of numerous charities and was a consultant on Paisley’s 2021 Year of Culture Bid. He managed the Crieff Business Improvement District from 2018 – 2021 and is currently also providing consultative support to Crieff Connexions during their move into, and repurposing of, a large-scale former retail site in the centre of Crieff. In 2016 he was awarded a fellowship from UWS for his contribution to Community and Arts Development.
Stephen Oswald - DARL Development Coordinator
Stephen is a self-employed consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in the property sector. Retained by Drummond Arms Regeneration Limited (DARL) since Sept 2020 as Project Development Coordinator. Currently, also involved as Project Lead for Capability Scotland’s “Our Inclusive Community Project” in Perth, a Board Trustee of the charity Edinburgh Palette and a member of Scottish Water’s Independent Customer Panel. stephen.oswald.drummondarms@gmail.com
thatstudio - Conservation architects
thatstudio is an award winning firm of RIAS Conservation Accredited architects based in Linlithgow, West Lothian. They have been involved with the project since 2020. Young, enthusiastic and people focussed, they believe good design should benefit both everyday life and the civic environment. The Project lead and Conservation Accredited Architect is Director, Andrew Taylor
Narro - Conservation engineers
Over the last 35 years, Narro have earned a reputation as one of Scotland’s leading conservation engineers with a wealth of projects dedicated to the sensitive care of historically important buildings, structures and places. They have worked on the project since 2020. Clients include statutory consultees such as Historic Environment Scotland, local authorities and building preservation trusts like Scottish Historic Buildings Trust and Glasgow City Heritage Trust who value Narro’s mindful, empathetic and practical approach. The Project lead engineer is Jonathan Narro Chartered Associate Engineer and head of the Stirling office.
Kinetic - main contractor
The Kinetic team have years of experience in removing all types of structures safely and considerately in many different environments. The former Drummond Arms Hotel buildings have certainly provided challenge but Kinetics intelligent but “can do” approach has delivered huge progress in safely removing debris and asbestos. Working closely with the engineers and specialist sub-contractors they have also overseen a number of carefully installed structural supports between April 2021 and November 2022. The Lead on site is Operations Director Peter MacDonald.
Galbraith - Project manager
A leading independent national property consultancy with expertise covering a broad spectrum of property related services. Galbraith have been involved as technical project managers with this project from the very start in 2019. They also coordinate Health and Safety and Quantity Surveying services for the Project. The Project lead surveyor is Stefan Hlavasca