A former Kirkcudbright councillor is calling for the town’s common good fund to be used to turn an “eyesore” building into flats.
The Royal Hotel at the crossroads of St Cuthbert Street and St Mary Street is currently sitting empty and has been fenced off after being classed as “dangerous” by the council.
Now, Colin Wyper is calling for something to be done before it is too late.
He said: “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and it is quite a talking point in the town as it is so dilapidated.
“It is just going to get worse and worse and it will end up like the George in Stranraer.
“The plan is not to restore it but to convert it to flats, demolish the buildings at the rear and sell it off to recoup the initial outlay.
“It is important to make the building habitable again as there are hotel ruins all over the place.
“It will end up another blot on the landscape if we do nothing.
“There is no commercial interest and the council will not finance repairs.
“The initial response on social media is very supportive with just the usual doom and gloomers against it.
“I have no idea what it will cost but I want to start the conversation and formulate a plan of action.”
Mr Wyper added that he believed the last time the hotel was sold, it went to auction for £100,000.
Current Dee and Glenkens councillor, Pauline Drysdale – who is also a member of the Kirkcudbright common good fund sub committee – said: “I was contacted by the Kirkcudbright Community Council and Colin Wyper with regards to the fencing off of an area surrounding The Royal Hotel.
“There is a huge amount of local interest with regards to the future of this statuesque and prominent building as its heritage is of particular significance to the people of Kirkcudbright.
“It’s imperative to do all that we can to preserve it, not only for the best interests of our community, but also for incoming visitors to our region. I foresee conversations going forward should there be no viable route forward for The Royal under the current ownership and due to the passion currently being expressed. Undoubtedly I would wholeheartedly be happily involved in these discussions if indeed they do take place.”
A council spokeswoman said: “A dangerous building notice was served by the council’s building standards service on the Royal Hotel, Kirkcudbright due to shards of glass falling from upper floor windows onto the pavement. Unfortunately, no action was taken by the building owner to rectify the situation within the timescales allowed in the notice and so, in order to protect the public, the council installed fencing around the building.
