Plans have been lodged to tear down a crumbling Victorian building in Ayr to make way for serviced apartments and shops.
South Ayrshire Council had to carry out emergency repairs on the former Royal Hotel in Kyle Street last year after the property was branded dangerous.
Michael McFadden has applied for permission to erect a new building to take its place housing two commercial ground floor units and seven flats above.
It is proposed the demolition will take place using hand tools.
A design statement submitted to the council as part of a planning application said “demolition is the only option.”
Windows are missing, part of the roof has collapsed, plants are covering the guttering the rainwater has been pouring in.
A structural inspection discovered that the sandstone three-storey building beside Ayr Central is in a poor and dangerous condition.
Designs show the developer wants to replace the structure with a “like for like building” in keeping with the character of the historic Conservation Area.
The statement from chartered surveyors DM Hall said the building “will replicate the Kyle Street façade as it would have appeared when the building was the Royal Hotel.”
The statement added: “Since the two ground floor units and the Royal Hotel closed, the buildings have deteriorated year on year and have passed from one owner to another.”
The planning application showed there will be no parking.
No decision has been made yet on the application, which was submitted to South Ayrshire Council.
The old hotel is listed on the Buildings at Risk Register and has been empty for at least a decade.
Other attempts to turn the plot into a feasible development in the past included a proposal for a gym.
The building at 9 to 11 Kyle Street was sold last year for £80,000 according to Scotland's Land Information Service.
Back in 2005 it was purchased for £400,000 - but has had a number of owners since then.
It used to be Matha Dickie's pub.
