Action over a crumbling eyesore in the Cairngorms National Park should be taken by the local counil, a Perthshire MSP has claimed.
The Spittal of Glenshee Hotel burned down in August 2014 and has lain in disrepair since a team of more than 50 firefighters extinguished the flames.
The dilapidated ruins have stirred considerable disquiet amongst local residents who fear children playing at the nearby holiday park could seriously injure themselves should they stumble into the site.
Now, as the owners of the charred site have left its condition to deteriorate even further, Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser is calling on the local authority to intervene and secure the site.
Conservative Mr Fraser has now written to Perth and Kinross Council’s Chief Executive Karen Reid to suggest the local authority now step in.
He said: “There is a real risk to children and young people who might decide to enter it as a place to play.
“The Buildings (Scotland) Act 2003 requires a local authority which considers a public building to pose a danger to the general public to undertake necessary works to prevent access to the building, and any other areas that are in danger, due to the state of the building.
“A local authority can recover any costs associated with such works from the owner of the building.”
“I also understand that the council would have compulsory purchase powers to acquire the site, if the current owner is refusing to sell at a realistic price. I would be grateful if the council could investigate whether this could be a viable option.
“There is interest within the community to acquire the site, but the cost of clearing it and cleaning it up makes this unviable at the moment.”
Describing the relic as “appalling,” Mount Blair Development Trust chairman Daryl Townsend says the site has fuel canisters which still haven’t been decommissioned within the complex and the interior of the building is carpeted with broken glass, with uncovered manholes outside.
Perth and Kinross Council were approached for comment but did not respond before today’s edition went to print.
