EAST Ayrshire Council will be wasting public money demolishing an abandoned building on Cumnock's Ayr Road, according to a local who has a connection to the old home.
The former janitor's house that was in the grounds of the old Cumnock Academy building is due to be torn down by the council after it was deemed surplus to requirements.
It remains standing almost 10 years on from when its most recent owners moved out when the council purchased the home as part of the larger development of the Barony Campus and demolition of Cumnock Academy.
David McMillan's mother and father-in-law previously owned the house before the council bought it from them back in 2015.
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“Prior to them buying the property from my mother-in-law, the new super school was on the agenda," David said.
"But the council didn’t consult with my mother-in-law at any point.
“She was the only resident on the grounds of where the school and car park and everything else was, so she would be the main person affected by this.
“The council eventually agreed to purchase the property, because my mother-in-law would’ve been living in a building site, and it just wouldn’t be feasible at all.
“She was 70 at that point, so she obviously couldn’t cope with that.
“Her property was bought for £120,000, so that let her relocate, but that was bought with council money."
He added: “It was previously a family home, but there was no real other solution.
“That property has lay there since 2015 in its current state, it’s been vandalised and is in some state.
“Our family approached the council about the potential of buying the property back, but that was declined because we were told there would be an increased amount of traffic if the house was occupied, its utilities had been turned off, it was too close to the Riverside centre and its septic tank was not registered.
“We asked them to take it to cabinet for further discussion because we feel that these reasons weren’t too much of an issue, but that was declined."
East Ayrshire Council has said that the home is now due to be demolished, with work likely to start after the new year.
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It's the decision to spend money on purchasing the house, upkeeping it and subsequently demolishing it that doesn't sit right with the McMillan's.
David said: “Council money has ben spent for the upkeep of the building.
“It was said that house was surplus to requirements, but we’re in a housing crisis and a financial crisis, so why has the council spent god knows how much money on buying, upkeeping and then demolishing the house, when there was an option there to make some money from the property?
“It feels like there could’ve been scope to let the public know about this, since it was using public funds to carry this out.
“The public should know how much it’s costing to do all of this."
Council bosses say they are under no obligations to carry out public consultation for a property like this.
"Taking all the issues identified into consideration, the Property Management Plan Progress Report was presented to cabinet on April 19, 2023 and it was agreed that the former school house and adjoining garage at 120 Ayr Road would not be offered for sale but would be demolished and the site landscaped.
"A contract has been awarded for the demolition and a pre start meeting will be held with the contractor in the near future to agree a start date.
"The timescale for demolition is nine weeks. Works may not start until January 2025 to avoid leaving an unfinished site over the festive period."
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