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EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL GOVERNANCE AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: 9th OCTOBER 2014 DERELICT AND DANGEROUS BUILDINGS REPORT Report by Acting Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services PURPOSE OF REPORT 1 The purpose of this report is to present to Committee an updated report that identifies and provides relevant information on those derelict and dangerous buildings within East Ayrshire which are known to the Council, present cause for concern, and have been subject to inspection over the last year under the Planning and Building Standards Legislation. DERELICT AND DANGEROUS BUILDINGS 2 Those properties detailed within Appendix 1 to this report include specifically buildings that are in a derelict and dangerous condition, and not buildings which are merely untidy in their appearance or land which is similarly untidy. For the purposes of this exercise, “derelict” has been taken to comprise properties where there is a significant deterioration in the physical fabric of the building; for example by way of damage to doors, windows, elevations or roof such as to allow ingress by the weather or to encourage vandalism. Where the structural stability of a building has deteriorated to an extent where it is unsafe to persons frequenting the building or to the public in general then the Council has mandatory powers to undertake necessary actions to make the building safe under the Building (Scotland) Act. For derelict or defective buildings enforcement action is discretionary under the Planning & Building Acts and any actions taken may ultimately require the Council to fund the enforcement work. 3 The properties referred to in this report represent the current derelict and dangerous buildings within the district. They are those properties in respect of which the Planning and Economic Development Service has received complaints and has deemed that further action requires to be taken or which are subject of enforcement investigation. BUILDINGS AT RISK REGISTER (BARR) 4. The Buildings at Risk Register has been in operation in Scotland since 1990. Its key purpose is to highlight properties of architectural or historic merit that are considered to be at risk or under threat. The Register is maintained by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), which recently took over the Buildings at Risk responsibility from the Scottish Civic Trust. 5 A survey of East Ayrshire was undertaken by the Scottish Civic Trust in 2010, which allowed the Buildings at Risk Register to be comprehensively updated. Since 2010 whilst no authority-wide surveys have been carried out, individual building records have been updated on the basis of individual site surveys and information provided by the general public or as statutory enforcement has been carried out. 6 There are currently 59 properties within East Ayrshire included on the Buildings at Risk Register; 4 are classified as ‘restoration in progress’ and 55 classified as ‘at risk’. Since September 2013, there have been 6 changes to the register, as a result of buildings either being saved or demolished. These include the Former Opera House, Kilmarnock and Sornhill Farm, by Galston, both of which have been saved, where as the former St Columba’s Primary School, Kilmarnock and the former Country Firs Hotel, Patna have been demolished. It is noted that, Daldorch Footbridge, Catrine, and 89 Main Street, Patna remain on the Register as ‘at risk’ despite being demolished. It is also noted that the Temple at Dumfries House is also due for refurbishment, while the Star Bar St Marnock Place is currently under restoration, as is the Stables at Auchinleck House, however the Register still shows these as ‘at risk’. DETAILS RECORDED 7 Appendix 1 contains some 55 buildings together with details of the investigation, the origin of the complaint and the actions undertaken at each site. CASES RESOLVED 8 In addition to those cases listed in Appendix 1, there are a number of properties over the last year where intervention by Planning and Building Standards or separate actions by the owners have resulted in the cases being resolved some of the more significant of which are noted here:- a. 185A Main Street Auchinleck: The partial roof collapse resulted in the building demolished in the interests of public safety; b. Poosie Nansies, 21 Loudoun Street Mauchline: Car collision with single storey extension on front elevations necessitated the demolition of single storey extension all in the interests of public safety; c. Garages to rear of Barbadoes Road, Kilmarnock: Garages secured or demolished where required all works now complete; d. 27 - 27A Morven Avenue, Knockinlaw, Kilmarnock: Building secured; e. 135 Barshare Rd, Barshare, Cumnock: Property unsecure, building now demolished; f. 63 Barshare Road Barshare, Cumnock: Building now secured; g. 107 Barshare Road Cumnock: Building secured; h. Mcclymont Court Barshare Cumnock: Building made safe; i. Old Manse Mauchline Road Ochiltree: Building secure; j. Cumnock Senior Citizens Club Tower Street Cumnock: Fire damaged building demolished; k. Southhook Potteries, Western Road Kilmarnock: Building demolished; l. Farm Building, Mill O Shiel Farm, Drongan: Fire damaged building now demolished; m. Block 1, Newton Street, Catrine: Unit lying empty and has been vandalised. Building secured and under new ownership. n. Craigends Farm, Moscow, Waterside: Potential dangerous building site. Building secured against entry; o. The Bridgend, 22 - 24 Main Street Newmilns: Damaged stonework below window on the corner of no 24 due to vehicular collision. Remedial works now complete, building secure; p. Mcclymont Court, Barshare, Cumnock: Roofs and brickwork dangerous. Building made safe and repairs undertaken; q. 34 Main Street Patna: Dangerous building resulted in the building being demolished and the site cleared; r. Former Fire Station Western Road Kilmarnock: Building demolished site cleared following fire damage; s. 20 Lugar Street Cumnock : Fire damaged building secured, approved building works progressing; t. 108 John Finnie Street Kilmarnock: Repairs to lintel completed; u. Old Church halls Glasgow Road Muirkirk: Building secured; v. 23EPagan Walk Smallburn Muirkirk: Building secured FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 9 In relation to the development or restoration of derelict buildings within Council ownership, resources would require to be secured to fund this type of work. In relation to external funding potential sources of grant funding exist for specific areas for example Kilmarnock Townscape Heritage Initiative, Kilmarnock Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme and Cumnock Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme and works are ongoing within the Kilmarnock and Cumnock town centres to restore former derelict, defective and dangerous buildings. 10 Under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 when a building, or part of a building deteriorates and becomes structurally unsafe and is considered as a dangerous building, statutory procedures in Sections, 29 and 30 of the 2003 Act can be implemented on the owner(s) to undertake the required works to rectify the defect or remove the danger and the risk to public safety. In terms of Sections 29 and 30 of the 2003 Act, this process can, in the most severe cases, require a building to be demolished. While the building owner(s) are responsible for preventing their buildings becoming defective or falling into a dangerous condition, these powers given under the Act do not diminish this responsibility but merely provide a ‘safety net’ that can be used to protect the public when it appears to the Council that, for whatever reason, a building owner has failed in the duty to fulfill this responsibility. 11 When the Council requires to undertake the public safety works specified under Sections 29 or 30 on behalf of the owner(s), all reasonable costs incurred in process are recoverable from the owner(s) through the Council’s debt recovery process. 12 Under Section 179 of the Town & Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, the Council has discretionary powers and may serve a notice on property that is adversely affecting the amenity of their area, (a “wasteland notice”), which if not complied with could result in the Council initiating direct action under Section 135 of the Act and then seeking to recover reasonably incurred costs. 13 The Council has powers to recoup all expenditure incurred under both the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. However there continues to be a growing number of buildings owned either by individuals who reside, or businesses who are registered outwith the British Isles, thus requiring legal action to be pursued by the Council in the country where the person resides or business is registered. This has proven extremely difficult in the debt recovery process due to the potential costs associated with the recovery of the money abroad and therefore not cost effective. 14 This matter has been raised by the Local Authority Building Standards in Scotland (LABSS) directly with the Scottish Government and as a consequence of this campaign the Buildings (Recovery of Expenses) (Scotland) Bill, (formally referred to as the Defective and Dangerous Buildings (Recovery of Expenses) Bill was introduced in the Parliament by David Stewart MSP, as a Private Members Bill on 30th October 2013. 15 The policy objective of the Bill is to amend the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to allow local authorities to make charging orders against the property for recovery of expenses incurred where the Local Authority have carried out works under Sections 25-30 of the Act. This new legislation would allow local authorities to use charging orders, recorded in the Land Register (or if appropriate, Register of Sasines), as a means of recovering expenses incurred when the land or property in question was sold. 16 The expenses include interest on the debt and potentially allow for an earlier redemption of the expenses incurred by the Local Authority than the current processes. It is expected that, the proposals will only apply to notices and work carried out after the legislation comes into force, which is expected to be early 2015.