Crawford Architecture, based in Montrose, has promoted David Paton to the post of associate director having been with the family firm for more than 15 years, starting his career studying at university alongside fellow director, Kevin Crawford.

A life-long Montrose resident, Mr Paton, 38, lives in the town with his partner and was chair of the Montrose Music Festival for eight years. He then founded the town’s Playhouse project, turning the former swimming pool into a state of the art cinema, which is due to open in the Autumn acting currently as its chairman.

Speaking of the promotion, Kevin, son of company founder John Crawford, said: “David has been a valued and integral part of our business for many years and feels like a part of our family, so it was only natural that this would be the next step for him. It can be difficult to hand over control of a family business, however we know that David is the right person to help us move the business forward - especially with my father starting to slowly step back from day to day running of the company.

“David has been involved with most of our major projects and his interests outside of work also mean he has already acquired a vast amount of experience in leading teams and projects, so I have no doubt that he will rise to this new challenge and help us lead the business in exciting new ways.”

Recent major clients for Crawford Architecture include Fotheringham Homes, GlaxoSmithKline, The OGV Taproom in Aberdeen, and the Montrose Playhouse. In addition, the company recently expanded its Montrose premises to facilitate future growth.

Mr Paton said: “I am extremely grateful to Kevin and his dad John for trusting me with this leadership position within their business. Over the past 15 years, our industry has changed so much, from drawing by hand, to utilising CAD software, as well as building and planning regulations progressing with an increased emphasis on sustainability.

“As well as my new role, I am also working towards my Part 3 examinations, which is the final stage of education for an architect and will allow me to become a chartered architect, which brings with it a host of benefits for the company and will also streamline processes for our clients.”