The demolition of Forfar’s Lochside leisure centre is a step closer.
Councillors voted to carry out public consultation on bulldozing the controversial building in a move which could leave nine parties who expressed an interest in leasing it out in the cold.
Community empowerment legislation requires the authority to formally ask the Angus public their opinion on demolition.
But no other options will be discussed in the consultation.
The decision effectively ends the onus being on the council to follow-up approaches from nine potential occupiers who registered an interest after councillors agreed earlier this summer to put the empty building up for lease.
A previous consultation which ran between December last year and the end of January showed 36% of the 334 respondents in favour of razing the centre.
The latest stage in the saga surrounding the centre was fought over during a marathon full council meeting.
Councillors spent seven hours in the online meeting but got little more than half way through a packed agenda.
Three of the four Forfar ward councillors wanted to continue to pursue the lease route after officials suggested an end of this month deadline for expressions of interest.
But they were outvoted 18-8 following criticism of the lack of detail around the expressions of interest which had come in.
Abyss
Authority leader David Fairweather said the Lochside situation had left the council “looking at an abyss”.
He said it was “absolutely scandalous” the authority was continuing to pay £1,000 for the upkeep of a building declared surplus to requirements years ago when the centre was replaced with the opening of Forfar community campus.
He also raged about the potential risk to the Forfar Common Good Fund of any further delay.
A Court of Session ruling following a case to save the centre brought by two town businessmen declared the centre and ground as a common good asset.
It means that from May next year the burden around the centre also falls to the common good, including the potential £400,000-plus demolition bill.
Arbroath Independent Mr Fairweather said: “I just don’t think this is going to happen.
“It’s going to take so long it’s going to fall down, the leases aren’t going to happen and the Forfar common good will suffer, not just in the short-term but the long-term.”
Irresponsible
Carnoustie Independent David Cheape said: “The easy option here is to demolish.
“There are nine expressions of interest.
“We should be following those up – we have a responsibility to do that.
“I can’t believe that the council are not prepared to wait 21 days to get details of those nine notes of interest.
“It doesn’t matter how valid they are, they are just going to be put in the bin and that is totally irresponsible.”
Council officials say the formal consultation process could take around a year to complete.