Ellon Community Council has hosted a special thank you supper and ceilidh evening for everyone involved with the construction of a shelter in Gordon Park.

Eleven Prince's Foundation Building Craft apprentices worked alongside master craftsmen to construct a small octagonal building with seating.

The event took place in the New Inn recently.

Jack Macgregor from Alba Green Oak Frames said: "It was good to teach the apprentices and reinforce the traditional building techniques."


Hank Dittmar, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, said the structure is an excellent demonstration of the "timeless principles of design and craftmanship" that the apprentices are taught.

The Building Craft Apprentices programme, launched in 2007 in response to a major crisis in building craft skills in the UK, is open to building craft students who already have a basic level of skills training - usually NVQ Level 2 or 3.

Visit www.princes-foundation.org/index.php?id=1069 for more information on the apprentice programme and to read the project blog.

For more information on Alba Green Oak Frames see www.buildscotland.co.uk/company_515546.htm

(GK/KMcA)