Demolition work begins on 156-year-old building

The town centre building has been covered in scaffolding for years

The "controlled dismantling" of a prominent town centre building in a Borders town has begun.

Scaffolding was first put up on the property on Jedburgh's High Street when issues arose with falling masonry.

Scottish Borders Council was granted a compulsory purchase order last year to allow it to make progress with the demolition.

Once the dismantling is complete, it is planned to erect a new building - incorporating parts of the old one - on the site.

It has taken several years for the local authority to reach this stage with the category C listed building which dates back to 1866.

In January, an archaeological survey uncovered a well dating back to the 16th or 17th Century in the basement of the property.

A well was uncovered during the work which has delayed its timescale

That - along with other unforeseen additional work - means the demolition will take longer than originally planned.

It had been hoped it could be completed by late July but that will now have to be revised.

The council's executive member for infrastructure, Gordon Edgar, said it was encouraging to see the progress being made.

"This process of controlled dismantling is extremely complex and requires a great deal of care," he said.

"Since beginning the project in December a number of unforeseen and additional works have been identified which mean the overall completion date will be later than anticipated."

The new building will contain commercial space on the ground floor and a new apartment block on the upper level.