Calls have been issued for an independent public inquiry into the demolition of the former Territorial Army Building in Paisley.
Councillor Will Mylet will ask elected members to back his motion submitted to the next full meeting of Renfrewshire Council at the end of February.
The politician believes “lessons need to be learned” after the flattening of the remains of the B-listed structure in High Street got under way earlier this month.
Councillor Mylet, who represents Paisley East and Central, said: “I can’t believe what has happened, it is very sad to see this building being brought down.
“I feel that there needs to be an independent public inquiry going forward to find out if there was anything else that could have been done.
“Lessons need to be learned and legislation strengthened to not only protect Paisley’s heritage and history but indeed across Scotland.”
The local authority served a dangerous building notice on JR Construction, the owner of the site, before Christmas after the removal of the majority of the façade retention scheme.
It stipulated the company had three weeks to begin the process of either reinstating the scaffolding or knocking down the remains of the frontage. It opted for the latter option.
The council came under fire for setting out two potential courses of action, however, it insisted it had “no choice” but to do so.
A spokesperson said previously: “When considering the content to be included in the dangerous building notice (DBN), council officers sought a quote from a UK specialist for reinstatement of a suitably designed façade retention system for the former TA Building.
“This was required as if the owner fails to comply with the DBN, the responsibility to carry out the specified work and meet the costs would lie with the council.
“The quote for purchase and installation of a bespoke system was approximately £800,000, not including the cost of ongoing monitoring and any maintenance works required until a viable use for the site is found.
“Therefore, the council was not in a position to fund these works on a privately-owned building and had no choice but to include demolition as an option within the notice.
“While the costs could potentially be recovered from the owner, this would require a lengthy legal case with associated costs and there is no guarantee that the funds would be fully recovered.”
Councillor Mylet’s motion asks the local authority to “condemn the actions” of the JR Group, of which JR Construction is a division, for “wilful neglect” of the building and requests an independent public inquiry into the saga.
The council said the owner removed the support system in early October and “ignored” four formal notices to reinstate it. It then served the dangerous building notice in the interest of public safety.
Standing between Coats Memorial Church and Paisley Museum, the TA Building was damaged by a fire in March 2020.
JR Construction was given the green light to build accommodation for up to 338 students at the site in October of that year.
Last year, it submitted an application for listed building consent for the demolition of the retained façade, but the request was withdrawn the day before it was due to be considered by the planning and climate change policy board in early December.
This development – which came after a report by the chief planning officer at the time said there was “no clear justification” to back demolition – meant councillors couldn’t discuss the matter at the meeting.
The notice was served on December 18 and, despite the efforts of campaigners including retired conservation officer Duncan Macintosh and Paisley West and Central Community Council, the future of the building could not be secured.
A spokesperson for the JR Group said previously: “Following numerous site visits and surveys, over a prolonged period of time, regarding the ongoing safety of the TA Building façade retention, deteriorating ground conditions meant the scaffolding/retention system – which had been supporting the structure for the last three years – was in fact sinking and, as a result, was pulling the building towards Paisley’s High Street and had become a risk to life.
“It was essential that urgent action be taken to prevent public harm. Following extensive and detailed dialogue with Renfrewshire Council, permission was granted to demolish the remains of the building.”
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