Angus planners have blocked a bid to bulldoze historic warehousing at Montrose port.
J R Rix & Sons lodged an application with the council to demolish the C-listed 670 square metre sandstone building at 4 Meridian Street.
The company planned to replace the near 100-year-old warehouse with a larger concrete and metal clad facility.
They said the poor state of the building would make restoration extremely difficult and costly.
Large sections would have to be taken down and rebuilt because of the decay in the stonework.
Montrose Port Authority backed the bid.
It said the port has changed significantly over the past 100 years with many original buildings demolished to meet modern needs.
“The application site has a strategic position with adjacent berthing facilities which renders it an important quayside site,” added the port authority.
Opposition to demolition
However, Historic Environment Scotland and council planning officials disagreed with the demolition proposal.
In 2020, an application to have the listing removed from the building was unsuccessful.
HES said the firm had not made a convincing case for demolition.
It blamed a lack of maintenance over recent years for the decaying state of the building.
The council said it was a building worth saving.
“While harbour warehouses are not a rare building type in Scotland, this example, with its segmental gable facing the harbour, is now among the best surviving 19th to early 20th century warehouses in Montrose,” said the planning report.
“Despite some later alteration and some loss of fabric, the warehouse remains a good surviving example of an industrial building that relates to the development and historic function of Montrose Harbour.
“The prosperity of the town during the 19th century was in no small part built on its well-situated harbour for international trading and cargo.”
Refusal reasons
Planners said: “The proposal attracts support from development plan policies aimed at enhancing the function of Montrose Port.
“It is clear a larger, taller modern building would be more flexible for port-related activities and modern machinery.
“However, development plan support for development at the port is not unqualified.
“The proposal raises significant conflict when considered against policies designed to safeguard the historic environment.
“Those policies only allow the demolition of listed buildings in exceptional circumstances and where all reasonable efforts have been made to save the building.
“When matters are balanced and considered in the round, the benefits of the proposal do not outweigh the strong presumption in favour of protecting the listed building.”
The application was refused under delegated powers.
It leaves the avenue of appealing the decision to the council’s development management review committee still open.
Montrose port projects in the pipeline
Rix is also awaiting a decision on ambitious plans to transform buildings in nearby America Street into an operations and maintenance base.
The proposal was lodged in 2020 as part of a project which could create 50 jobs for the town.
In March, the council gave the green light to the redevelopment of another prominent port building.
The B-listed Custom House will be converted into an office complex by the Stonehaven-based Whittaker Group.
A new roof will feature a dome offering views over the town.
The plans will also see the building’s original hoist and lifting gear retained.
