Further delay over former hotel tidy-up cost dispute

A SCOTTISH minister’s decision over unpaid tidy-up costs for an eyesore Angus town centre hotel has been further delayed.

The council is chasing Fife developer John Cape for the £9,000 it spent to make the former Hooks Hotel in Kirriemuir’s Bank Street safe after a lengthy dispute with the businessman over the state of the building.

Mr Cape bought the hotel in 2015 with million-pound plans to put a shop and flats into the premises, with further residential development to the rear of the site.

The businessman had hoped to secure grant assistance under the Kirriemuir Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (Cars), a fiveyear improvement programme now drawing to a close.

However, repeated wrangling over the planned programme of works and the state of the building led to the council taking direct action on health and safety grounds.

Cars steering group members raised concerns that a passing member of the public might be hit by flailing roof membrane hanging down from the C-listed building, with fears also raised over possible water ingress damage. The project was a long-time fixture on the local authority’s list of enforcement cases and, in the middle of last year, the council secured a court order to take the required direct action.

The owner was subsequently served with a bill for the outstanding sum, but Mr Cape — who previously alleged that “red tape and manipulation” had stymied progress on the project — then launched an appeal against the serving of a notice for liability of expenses.

A decision on the matter had been expected around the end of February, but the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division has now indicated it may be a number of weeks before a ruling is made.

A spokesman for the planning and environmental appeals division said: “This case will be determined by Scottish ministers on receipt of a report and recommendations by a reporter. The reporter, Dannie Onn, has carried out an accompanied site inspection and is preparing his report. He anticipates it will be delivered to ministers in late April.”

The former Hooks Hotel in Kirriemuir.