Workers are on site getting ready to rebuild the fire-ravaged Taynuilt Inn.
Site preparation is happening now says its owner Calum MacLachlainn, with work starting in earnest soon.
Argyll and Bute planners gave permission in July this year for the hotel to be brought back to life. It was so badly damaged in the 2021 blaze, that large parts of it had to be demolished because of safety concerns.
Mr MacLachlainn said he hoped 95 per cent of the contractors being used on the project will be from the area.
“We’re looking at starting in the New Year and hope to finish fairly quickly,” he said.
He added the new complex would bring more than just jobs to the neighbourhood.
“I’m revitalising the village. If you take away a hotel or pub from a village, it’s damaging. The effect has knock-ons, but we are bringing it back.
“It will be “food-focused” but villagers will be just as welcome as hotel stay-over guests, he said.
The plans also include two self-catering units being built. A condition is that all of those units are occupied in association with the main hotel therefore restricting them from being occupied on a permanent residential basis.
Proposals involve the reconstruction of the main hotel building with the main front elevation reinstated to its former appearance before being devastated by fire.
Two-and-a-half storey pitched roof extensions are proposed, projecting from the rear elevation of the main hotel building which will effectively result in a courtyard-styled formation.
A new glazed conservatory with elements of timber cladding is proposed at ground floor level to the rear elevation of the hotel between the two proposed rear extensions which will provide seating for the hotel restaurant.
And the planned conservatory will open out onto a terraced area which will provide outdoor seating.