Crucial repair work is required to avoid any further damage to listed buildings at Strathmartine Hospital near Dundee, councillors will hear this week.
And care will need to be taken to minimise the risk of further attacks by vandals.
More than 200 homes may be created at the disused hospital, just inside the Angus boundary, although developers have yet to lodge a planning application. While drawing up a masterplan, the site owners asked specialists to prepare a conservation statement, now being looked at by council officials and Historic Scotland.
A report to Angus Council’s development standards committee tomorrow says the condition of the listed buildings is poor. Windows have been vandalised and the roofs stripped of lead. Most of the interiors have been badly affected by damp and water penetration, and the recreation hall and laundry have both been badly damaged by fire.
The report says that “urgent works” are needed to help the buildings dry out and prevent further timber decay. The conservation specialists have recommended stripping out all material that is in too poor a condition to be saved.
That includes most of the internal walls of the ward blocks, along with damaged floors, ceilings and partitions and the remaining carpets, wall coverings and cupboards. This will allow more ventilation to areas to be retained as part of the proposed conversion to housing and reduce the amount of timber that could support dry rot.
Temporary repairs to roofs, including laying bitumen felt, are also needed, along with repairs to gutters and drains.
The specialists’ report says, “It would not be appropriate to erect scaffolding around the building to support a full temporary roof due to the high risk of vandalism and of people gaining unauthorised access and then falling through the damaged roof structure.”
Opening windows to improve ventilation is recommended, with mesh placed over them to deter vandals and prevent birds flying inside the hospital.
“This will not be as effective a measure against vandalism as the current boarding,” the report adds. “A balance has to be struck between the security of the building against attack by vandals and the need for drying out.”
Much of the work may be completed by July if council officials and Historic Scotland give the go-ahead.