A Montrose firm is leading interest in the former Queen’s Close homeless hostel which has lain empty in the town centre for the past 15 years.
Rix Shipping want to use the 11-bed unit as accommodation for workers in the burgeoning renewables sector.
The company first approached Angus Council back in February to try and negotiate a deal.
And the Rix bid is now one of what the council says is a “number of offers” for the property after a closing date was set last month.
15-year saga after blaze fatality
It could finally bring an end to the saga surrounding Queen’s Close dating back to 2007.
A fatal fire tragedy there was followed by a failed £355,000 redevelopment of the B-listed building.
Subsequent attempts by the council to offload it have been unsuccessful.
Rix director Mark Cessford said the building could house personnel involved in the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) windfarm off the coast of Fife or any other on-going renewable project.
“In February this year we put an offer to the council.
“Then in September were told that due to the level of interest a closing date had been set.
“Our previous offer was re-sent – it is a clean offer with no conditions attached relating to planning permissions or anything like that.
“There’s been no utilisation of that asset for 15 years,” he said.
“But if there was a prospect of someone taking it off the council’s hands with an approach back in February I would have thought there would have been a desire to follow that through, whether it be with Rix or anyone else.
“We now await the outcome having heard nothing since the closing date.”
An Angus Council spokesman said: “A number of offers relating to Queen’s Close were received at the closing date of September 23 and they are currently under consideration.”
What went wrong with Queen’s Close?
2007: Tragedy strikes at the council-run homeless unit in Montrose town centre when a man dies in a fire.
The listed building is closed and work begins to refurbish it into 11 en-suite units with communal kitchens and laundry facilities.
2009: Improvement works are completed. The final bill is £355,000 – £100k over budget.
A bid to secure an HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) licence fails. Angus Council is also unable to get a housing association to take on the sprawling property.
2010: The council uses Queen’s Close for storage.
Hopes of a management deal with an independent operator fall through.
August 2015: Angus councillors declare it surplus to requirements and agree to sell it off.
The building’s layout is labelled “tortuous and unsatisfactory” for homeless accommodation by council officials.
August 2017: Queen’s Close remains on the market at an asking price of offers over £200,000.
A freedom of information request reveals more than £100k has been spent maintaining the empty building to that point.
November 2017: Councillors agree to accept an offer of £110,000 for the building.
The saga is labelled a ‘sorry story in the annals of Angus Council’ by one town councillor.
November 2020: Title deeds complications and the Covid pandemic delay the six-figure deal being concluded.
March 2022: Angus Council reveal the deal has collapsed. The title deeds issue is resolved but the potential buyer has pulled out.
A councillor who was one of the last people to work at Queen’s Close in a previous role brands the situation “a bloody waste”.
Queen’s Close is put back on the market.
September 2023: Selling agents Shepherds set a closing date and a “number of offers” for the property are received by Angus Council.
