Bank bosses have been given the go-ahead to repair their Kirriemuir town centre branch but only after a full-face render of the historic sandstone building was ruled out.
A string of objections to the Bank of Scotland plan were submitted to Angus Council planning chiefs after the prospect of a blanket covering of the B-listed Bank Street building emerged following a 2013 incident in which a pedestrian narrowly escaped being hit by falling masonry.
Angus development standards committee members heard the sandstone in the wee red town described as clay-rich and of “generally poor quality, very vulnerable to the effects of weathering and with a tendency to disaggregate over time.”
Council head of planning Vivien Smith said the faade of the three-storey 1862 property had at one time been cut back and overcoated with a coloured render to match the original stonework.
Her report added: “In September 2013, pieces of render fell from the faade onto the pavement below, narrowly missing a pedestrian.”
Following a detailed inspection of the building by the Scottish Lime Trust a revised repair plan was submitted.
“A large proportion of the stone faade will be left untouched,” added the official in her committee report.
Kirriemuir councillor Ronnie Proctor said: “This saga has dragged on for a long time and I think what has been arrived at is a pretty good compromise after the community council and local groups said that the bank should go back to the drawing board and look again at how to repair this lovely building.”