The abandoned Lundin Links hotel is to be demolished “as soon as possible” following last week’s blaze, it has been confirmed.
Nearby residents were evacuated from their homes on Thursday night as a fire ripped through the vacant Lundin Links Hotel, near Leven in Fife.
The C-Listed building was destroyed in the blaze, which lasted around 17 hours, leading to calls for what was left of the former hotel to be demolished over safety fears.
Over the years, the building had become a hot-spot for vandals and fire bugs since in closed in 2014.
But he latest fire, which has been braded “a disaster waiting to happen“, was the final nail in the coffin for the Tudor-style hotel.
Public safety council’s ‘first priority’ in Lundin Links Hotel demolition
Ken Gourlay, Fife Council’s executive director of enterprise and environment, confirmed on Monday the hotel will now have to be demolished.
He said: “Plans are under way to safely demolish the building as soon as possible following the fire at the weekend.
“The safety of the public is our first priority and road diversions will continue until it is safe to remove them.
“These will be monitored by the police to make sure drivers are complying with the temporary traffic lights while they are in place.”
Hotel owners informed
Colin Davidson, councillor for Leven, Kennoway and Largo, released a statement online to say the current owners of the former hotel have been informed of the urgency around the building’s demolition.
The statement read: “Our planners, building control, roads and legal team have all been working flat out since Friday on this issue.
“What I can say is agreement has been reached with the government department dealing with listed buildings to demolish the building and the current owners have been informed of the need for this to happen ASAP.
“In addition the police will continue to be monitoring traffic using the diversion route to ensure its being fully complied with.”
Development history
Last month liquidators were appointed to wind up developers Kapital Residential, who received planning permission to turn the landmark into flats seven years ago.
But 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 this 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 on June 23 this year.
It was hoped liquidators would sell the hotel after the news left residents in the dark around the future of the building.
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