Council blocks £150k ‘peace’ deal for hotel
A bid to breathe new life into the future of the Station Hotel has hit the buffers – in a row over finances.
Council chiefs have blocked an attempted sale of the crumbling building in the centre of Ayr.
Officials said they had refused a “confidential” offer from the building’s current owner to transfer the site to a new party.
Council bosses are currently trying to recoup more than £1.1 million spent on scaffolding and repairs since 2018.
It is understood the hotel’s absentee owner, Eng Huat Ung, offered just £150,000 to make a deal possible.
South Ayrshire officials also said the proposal did “not address” their monthly scaffolding costs of almost £60,000 at the site.
And they said engineers have estimated it will cost £10m to repair structural damage at the hotel.
A spokesperson said: “The representative for the prospective buyer has advised they would not expect any past or future liabilities to pass to them, and this would include any costs associated with scaffolding or any safeguarding.
“Instead they have indicated that they require the property ostensibly debt free and “building ready to renovate”.
“The council is currently meeting its statutory duties to keep the public safe and does not have any requirement for the land or building for a development.
“Neither does the council have any associated funding that would be associated with such development that would entitle it to make a case for the Compulsory Purchase of the building.
“The community groups that have expressed an interest to develop the building can exercise the community statutory right to buy by applying for an order to do so from the Scottish ministers if they are unable to reach agreement with the owner.
“Before doing so, they would need to be able to evidence the funding for this purchase.
“The council has no right of ownership and is therefore unable to assist this process.”
A council source familiar with the bid said: “We were presented with an offer that would have taken the problem off our hands.
“But the proposal did not address the very real issue of current structural concerns at the hotel.
“It’s one thing for the council to hand back the building for a fraction of the money spent on its upkeep in recent years.
“It’s quite another to expect the taxpayer to continue paying for the scaffolding at a cost of £60,000 per month.
“And that’s what would have happened in this case.”
The council has already estimated the hotel could cost £50m in the long run if let to rot in its current state.