A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court to admit torching the Lundin Links Hotel in Fife last summer.
The teenager, who can not be named due to his young age, pled guilty to culpably and recklessly setting fire to the vacant hotel on August 18.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard the building was worth about £600,000 and cost £176,000 to demolish following the blaze.
The Courier reported previously nearby homes were evacuated during the 17-hour fire, though nobody was injured.
The derelict hotel had been closed since 2014 and had become a magnet for vandals and firebugs.
The teenager, who was aged 15 at the time of the incident, appeared in the dock on Tuesday to admit culpably and recklessly setting fire to the hotel in Leven Road, Lundin Links.
The charge states the fire took effect and caused permanent and irretrievable structural damage to the building, all to the danger of those in nearby residential buildings.
Sheriff Alison McKay deferred sentence until June 6.
Development history
Last summer, liquidators were appointed to wind up developers Kapital Residential, who received planning permission to turn the landmark into flats seven years prior.
The work never started due to delays caused by a dispute with Scottish Water over drainage, while Covid-19 also played an impact on development.
As the building gradually became a magnet for anti-social behaviour in the town, those living in close proximity to the hotel feared for the safety of their own homes.
Earlier last year, Fife Council went to court for permission to secure the building after years of inaction by owners which saw its windows boarded up.
Questions were later raised after it was revealed that the Kapital Residential secured an £850,000 taxpayer-funder loan on the property in 2020, under the Scottish Government’s Emergency Covid Liquidity Fund.
A provisional liquidator for the company was appointed in June last year.
It was hoped liquidators would sell the hotel after the news left residents in the dark around the future of the building.
Demolition work took place last autumn.
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