The date for the demolition of an Angus “white elephant” is still in doubt as another deadline has come and gone.
Bulldozers were due to move into the Forfar Loch Country Park “almost immediately” after members of Angus Council’s policy and resources committee paved the way in May for the demolition of the former Lochside Leisure Centre.
An allowance of £500,000 had previously been set aside to meet the costs, including reinstatement of the ground.
However, a date for work to begin has still to be confirmed, although it is understood the demolition is “back on the table” for discussion at a meeting of the local authority later this month.
The leisure centre closed in February 2017 with sports facilities moving to the multi-million pound Forfar Community Campus.
Community leaders immediately called for the building to be razed to the ground as a matter of urgency after youths targeted the area shortly after the doors closed for the final time.
Vandals targeted the building, with groups up to 30-strong gathering to drink and cause havoc.
In one incident, visiting tourists at the adjacent Caravan Club site had their car and caravan damaged when youths hurled chunks of concrete over the perimeter fence, with items also thrown at passing vehicles.
Colin Brown, Independent councillor for Forfar, led the charge for the boarded-up building to be flattened before the height of the summer season.
For months he urged the local authority to demolish the building to avoid “devastating consequences.”
>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The Courier newsletter
That fell on deaf ears, with Angus Council confirming in July the building would be bulldozed “in the autumn”.
Mr Brown could not comment on the latest delay in case it barred him from participating in later planning decisions.
Five months on from taking the decision to demolish the building “immediately”, Angus Council is unable to confirm when work will begin.
A spokesman said: “The current situation is that we are in the process of finalising arrangements for the centre’s demolition, a process that also involves the disengagement of water, sewerage and electricity supply in such a way that doesn’t impact on neighbouring properties and businesses.”
He added plans and proposal for the provision of toilet facilities in the area, for which £40,000 common good fund money was agreed by councillors in May, are “ongoing”.
