WRECKING CREW TEAR APART EK LANDMARK
Future of Atholl House site uncertain
The bulldozers have moved in to begin demolishing an East Kilbride landmark, which will see yet another gaping hole in the town centre.
Campaigners were outraged when the News revealed South Lanarkshire Council had granted Ediston Opportunity Fund a warrant to tear down Atholl House.
Under building control regulations the decision did not require to go before a planning committee.
But campaigners including East Kilbride History Society, East Mains Community Council and East Kilbride Housing Forum criticised the council for not carrying out any consultation.
Now demolition work has begun, stripping out the inside of the former headquarters of the East
Kilbride Development Corporation.
Ediston want to clear the site before Christmas because the rotting and empty building is beyond saving and is not viable for conversion.
An appeal to the Scottish Government and long-running battle to turn the site into a supermarket was thrown out in 2014.
The demolition will leave a gaping hole in the town centre, just yards from the old Stuart Hotel, which was pulled down in 2013.
The vacant site where the hotel once stood was put up for sale by owners G1 Group in 2014 but still lies vacant.
The 32,000 sq ft site at Cornwall Street is advertised as a commercial property to rent.
Joe Allan, president of East Kilbride History Society, wrote to Ediston in a last-ditch attempt to save Atholl House and there were also concerns as to whether environmental impact surveys had been completed to check for the presence of bats, which are a protected species.
It is thought plans for the future of the site could be revealed in a matter of weeks.
Campaign groups had wanted the building to be saved and converted into flats to try to plug the ever-growing housing waiting list in the town.
And local politicians, including SNP MSP Linda Fabiani, backed calls for the site to be used for affordable housing.
Mr Allan told the News: “We want to know why no consultation was carried out by Ediston or South Lanarkshire Council and, above all, why it was deemed the building was no longer fit for purpose.
“It seems, however, an environmental impact survey was carried out which found there were no bats. If work had been started demolishing without this being done, Ediston could have been in trouble.”
He went on: “As much as it pains me to say, we have lost the battle to save Atholl House but now we have to find out what the plans are for the future of the site.
“The last thing we want is another Stuart Hotel and a massive empty site at such a prominent point in the town.
“East Kilbride is slowly but surely being stripped of everything and something needs to be done before we lose anything else.”
Ediston would not confirm what will be built on the site but say they hope to come forward with plans in the near future.
South Lanarkshire Council say any plans lodged by Ediston will require the company to undertake a pre-application consultation with the public.