A GROUP who halted the demolition of Ayr’s Seafield House want to help save the crumbling Station Hotel.
SAVE Britain’s Heritage want action taken at the category B listed building and have called on the absentee foreign owner to sell the building so a restoration can take place.
The group, who also have the success story of Dumfries House on their CV, have waded into the argument in the midst of a three week consultation in the hotel’s future.
Last week, SAVE produced a report ‘Ayr Station Hotel: the new journey’ which asked for the public to back their plans to restore the building to its former glory.
Marcus Binney, executive president of SAVE Britain’s Heritage said “This is a splendid landmark in one of the loveliest resort towns in Scotland. A determined effort must be made to wrest it from its owners who cannot be contacted and whose agents do not respond to inquiries.”
The building which opened in 1885 was once a plush hotel in its hey day of the 1950s.
But last year a structural report revealed 1,000 defects with estimated repair costs of £10 million.
SAVE’S report includes pictures of inside the rotting building which they believe showcases the splendour of the hotel.
They also compare the Station Hotel to other success stories across Scotland including Glasgow Grand Central Hotel which continues to operate.
The group have asked South Ayrshire Council and Network rail for a two-year period to develop plans, costing and funding for a rescue plan.
Mr Binney continues: “Scotland has the strongest and most effective powers in Britain to serve repairs orders and initiate compulsory purchase orders on neglected heritage properties.
“South Ayrshire Council, Historic Environment Scotland and Government ministers must use these powers to put a final stop to decay and start a revival”.
Part of SAVE’S plan will include seeking support for a new building preservation trust to take on the hotel, initiate roof repairs and carry out phased renovation floor-by-floor.
They argue that the cost of repairs will be cheaper than the estimated cost of a new building mooted by Network Rail and Transport Scotland in 2018.
SAVE swooped in to Dumfries House near Cumnock in 2007 when they launched an initial £25 million appeal to acquire the house, land and contents.
They raised £19 million in pledges when HRH The Prince of Wales took over and completed the restoration project, to huge success.
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