Seven-year building safety struggle lessons to be learned

Scaffolding was first put up around the building on safety grounds in 2015

A council has pledged to make every effort to avoid any repeat of a seven-year safety struggle with a prominent property in the Borders.

Action was first taken to protect the public on Jedburgh's High Street in 2015 when issues arose with falling masonry.

Following lengthy negotiations with the owners and a public inquiry, Scottish Borders Council (SBC) was granted a compulsory purchase order last year.

It has now agreed to put £2.2m towards the dismantling and replacement of the 156-year-old building.

A report to councillors outlined the length of the battle to make the property safe and replace it.

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Dangerous building notices were served in June 2015 and action taken to make the site safe.

An assessment of the structure concluded it would cost more to repair than it was actually worth and the council decided seek to buy it in order to demolish and replace it.

Purchase talks took place with owners of various parts of the property but agreement could not be reached with them all.

The council agreed to seek a compulsory purchase order but this was opposed by one resident and resulted in a public inquiry in May last year.

Demolition works have taken longer than first anticipated

The Scottish government then confirmed the acquisition of the building could go ahead and it was completed in November 2021.

Demolition work began in March this year but has taken longer than originally anticipated.

It is hoped it can now be completed early next year before construction begins on a number of one and two-bedroom flats on the site.

A council meeting to approve funding towards the project was told lessons would be learned from the lengthy saga.

It heard that a number of departments were involved and they would discuss what could be done to avoid any repeat of such a long-running process in future.