The owner of a dilapidated Perth city centre church could be the subject of legal action as its deterioration accelerates.
The Courier can reveal Perth and Kinross Council is set to inspect St Paul’s Church and will then decide whether to exercise statutory powers, which may include serving an urgent notice on the owner, James Boyd, for works considered necessary to make the building secure and “weather tight”.
The Belfast-based businessman could also be served with a repairs notice to safeguard the building.
Mr Boyd, legal and compliance manager with Simple Marketing Global, took over the building in June from Edinburgh restaurant chain Khushi’s.
He promised to embark on a £2.5 million plan to transform the listed building into a caf and heritage centre.
However, scaffolding was removed four weeks ago following a dispute with a building company and the council had to step in and put up temporary fences.
A council spokesperson said legal action is being considered following “robust” dialogue with Mr Boyd.
She said: “The deteriorating condition of St Paul’s Church and the risk to public safety it presents is a matter of considerable concern to the council.
“Owners of statutorily listed buildings are expected to ensure they are kept in a sound, secure and weather tight state.”
She continued: “Due to the lack of progress on work to secure and repair the building, and the detrimental effect this is having on the surrounding Perth Central Conservation Area, the council has written to the owner, indicating that the application of statutory powers is now being considered.
“Specifically, this would involve serving an urgent works notice on the owner for works which are considered necessary to make the building secure and weather tight, and a repairs notice to carry out any work deemed necessary to safeguard the preservation of the building within two months of this being served.”
The spokesperson stated that if the required work is not carried out the council could take further statutory action, including carrying out the repairs and trying to recover the costs from Mr Boyd.
She stressed it would be in the interests of “all concerned” to avoid the need to exercise statutory powers.
Mr Boyd is currently abroad but architect Hugh Crawford, speaking on his behalf, claimed the entrepreneur is “aware” of the situation regarding St Paul’s Church.
“Mr Boyd has been dealing with the process of arranging new scaffolding with a protective wrap around the building,” he said.
“The scaffolding has to be designed and certified by specialist engineers.”