Church saleset forD-Day
A controversial plan to sell the historic Darlington Church for just £1 will be considered by South Ayrshire Council again next week.
A special hearing will be convened on Tuesday to finally decide the fate of the building.
But the council has failed to explain whether they are planning to seek additional information from a local arts group who have leased the building from Ayr Common Good since 2019.
A report on South Ayrshire’s common good property has suggested that the council will be considering whether to stand by its recent position that no court action would be required for the sale, contrary to previous statements citing court approval as a requirement.
Iris Arts won a bidding contest with Ayrshire Sikh Association and a local bike charity with an ambitious business plan in 2019. This included a clause that would allow them to purchase the building for £1.
However, the group have admitted that the business plan used to determine the lease in March 2019 was a ‘draft’.
The council also changed its position from 2019 that the sale of the church would require the go ahead from a Sheriff. In last month’s report, withdrawn at late notice, they had claimed to have received expert legal advice saying they did not have to go to court for permission to dispose of the historic building for a pound.
South Ayrshire Council was asked whether it was aware that the plan was just a draft and whether they were seeking additional details on which to make a decision on the future of the church.
They were also asked whether it was their view that the incorrect information would require the whole process to be reassessed.
A spokesperson responded: “A report on the former Darlington Church will be submitted to the Council Leadership Panel for its consideration in November 2021. Further information will be available at this time.”