A new Scottish training centre to teach the craft skills needed for the repair and conservation of old buildings is being built in Fife.

The £500,000 Merryhill Project in Charlestown is being funded by Scottish Enterprise and Historic Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Lime Centre Trust.

Its aim is to increase the number of people with stonemasonry and other heritage skills and expertise in what is a growing sector of the construction industry.

"As we strive to hang on to as much of our built heritage as possible, demand for the skills needed to work on old properties will increase," says Janice Roach, head of construction at Scottish Enterprise Glasgow.

Scottish Enterprise Glasgow is responsible for the national delivery of Scotland\'s £35million Construction Skills Actions Plan that aims to increase skills within the industry and encourage more people to consider it as a career.

"This centre will provide a dedicated resource to equip people with the skills to ensure our built heritage is secured for future generations," Janice says.

The facility will cater for people who want to learn to carry out their own repairs as well as professional craftsmen.

The new centre will be an extension of the Scottish Lime Centre\'s existing training and education facility, Charlestown Workshops.

Charlestown is steeped in the history of lime production and was a major source of the materials used to construct Scotland\'s rich built heritage.

Roz Artis-Young, director of the Scottish Lime Centre Trust, says: "We are eternally grateful for the support of Scottish Enterprise and Historic Scotland in supporting our drive to create a Centre of Excellence for traditional building skills, understanding of traditional buildings and the methods by which they should be repaired and maintained.

"At last we have the opportunity to take this proposal forward and create a world class facility in Scotland."

The training centre will recreate full-size elevations of a range of historic architectural styles and construction such as Edinburgh\'s Georgian new town houses and the medieval stonework found in Stirling\'s old town.

Janice Roach says: "What we\'ll create here will give people the chance to work in as close to a real life situation as we can create, to hone the specific skills needed to work on old buildings. I\'m sure it will encourage a whole new generation of stonemasons."