The situation that led to councillors being asked to give their approval to the complete demolition of a category B-listed building in St Andrews is a “sorry state of affairs” and “questions have to be asked”, according to a Fife councillor.
The strongly-worded view was expressed by the chairman of Fife Council’s north east Fife planning committee, Frances Melville, as members reluctantly backed a Fife Council planning service recommendation that the remains of Abbey Park House should be demolished because it has fallen into such a state of disrepair.
There was anger from councillors that the stone mansion house at St Leonards Fields had been allowed to get into such a state, with questions repeatedly raised as to what responsibility the owner, Robertson Homes, had to safeguard the former school building.
The Courier revealed on December 13 that demolition of the south wing was required, a Dangerous Building Notice had been served and a listed building application to demolish the whole building had been lodged.
Demolition of the southern wing began on December 12 and there were concerns this could affect the structural integrity of the remainder of the building.
Robertson Homes told The Courier then that undiagnosed problems had been identified in the 200-year old foundations. The demolition of the Regency wing had left the remainder of the building extremely vulnerable, along with the presence of severe timber rot.
Howe of Fife councillor David MacDiarmid said the situation was “shocking”.
He said: “If I let my house fall into such a state of disrepair, I’d probably have to go to jail. Why does criminal neglect not apply here? Has this been a deliberate attempt by the developer to bulldoze the site?”
St Andrews councillor Dorothea Morrison disagreed with any suggestion that the applicant would be happy with the demolition outcome, as its development plans intended to incorporate the architecture and style of the building.
She said the council had to ensure this was a “one-off” and was not a fate awaiting other listed buildings.
Tay Bridgehead councillor Tim Brett said: “I would like to see a report from Fife Council on exactly what Fife Council’s responsibilities were. We shouldn’t sit back and say ‘never mind, that’s unfortunate’ and now we’ve lost a B-listed building.”
Mrs Melville urged colleagues to steer the conversation away from the emotional side of the situation.
She said: “We have to be careful we don’t go beyond what we’ve been asked to do, we need to stick to the planning matters: do we approve demolition or not?”
Confirming that Fife Council does not have the resources to routinely monitor the condition of listed buildings, Fife Council planning official Alastair Hamilton said that, ultimately, the owner had responsibility for the building.
He said it would be a criminal offence to deliberately neglect a listed building, leading to its ultimate loss. He said the building was not evidently in any danger when Robertson Homes took ownership around six years ago, but its condition deteriorated after it was subjected to vandalism, windows were smashed and water began to ingress. There had also been issues with pigeon and bat infestations, he said.
Councillors unanimously agreed the demolition on condition that the stables wing be retained until an ornate stonework arch can be salvaged for reuse in a future development.