Ayr Station Hotel Fire 28/05/2023 and now on fire again 25/09/2023

If the remaining part is not dangerous then the local authority has no power to pull it down.

Having just had a look at what’s going to be left, I’m sure it is all going to go… it’s just local sensitivities being managed (break it to them gently). I agree it is a real shame we’ve lost yet another part of our railway history - I can only hope that this will show how foolish the earlier regime was and lessons should be learned….

D6130 said:

Presumably we're talking about the Southern half of the Northern Section

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This picture on Railcar from the opposite direction gives a better view of the North wing. My interpretation is that the current plan is to demolish/dismantle everything up to and including the part adjoining the canopy/footbridge structure: that’s the part with no roof. As a non-architect/structural engineer, I see the issue as being left with half a building that was originally a whole building and was designed as such. Does that affect the structural integrity of the remaining half? I don't know.

GusB said:

If the south wing has gone, and now the tower and part of the north wing are to be demolished too, is there anything that's worth keeping at all? I hate to see historic buildings demolished, but if there's nothing left of any value, wouldn't it be better to just pull the whole lot down and start with a clean sheet of paper, instead of having to incorporate the remains into any new development?

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That would make far too much sense, painful as it's been to lose this building the way we did. Given the exact circumstances that led to this fire happening in the first place, I'm not holding out much hope for a common sense solution here, but I'll be willing to be proved wrong.

MadMac said:

This picture on Railcar from the opposite direction gives a better view of the North wing. My interpretation is that the current plan is to demolish/dismantle everything up to and including the part adjoining the canopy/footbridge structure: that’s the part with no roof. As a non-architect/structural engineer, I see the issue as being left with half a building that was originally a whole building and was designed as such. Does that affect the structural integrity of the remaining half? I don't know.

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I'd be surprised if it didn't have a major effect on the structrual integrity of what's left, if I've interpreted the current plan correctly. Would be more cost-effective to just knock it all down and start afresh with a new transport interchange.

Buzby said:

Having just had a look at what’s going to be left, I’m sure it is all going to go… it’s just local sensitivities being managed (break it to them gently). I agree it is a real shame we’ve lost yet another part of our railway history - I can only hope that this will show how foolish the earlier regime was and lessons should be learned….

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I'll gladly have my cynicism proved wrong in the future, but at the moment, I honestly wish I could share in your optimism that anything's been learned from this debacle.

Strathclyder said:

I'll gladly have my cynicism

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Which was why I said ‘should’ and not ‘would’ !

Buzby said:

Which was why I said ‘should’ and not ‘would’ !

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That you did, my apologies; blame that on my lack of caffine lol

Looks like the owner has made an appearance and all work has halted.

"Works to demolish the Station Hotel in Ayr has been halted amid claims the building's absentee owner is planning to challenge South Ayrshire Council in court.

Property tycoon Sunny Ung, also known as Eng Haut Ung, is set to take on South Ayrshire Council in court, according to the Daily Record.
The Malaysian businessman is reportedly accusing the council of demolishing the hotel without giving him proper notice following the devastating fire in September last year.
It's believed that the case will be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on

Train services through the station remain suspended, and most of the southern section, which suffered the worst damage in September's fire, has already been razed to the ground.
South Ayrshire Council recently announced that it had taken the decision, on safety grounds, to demolish what's left of the tower as well as part of the northern section of the building.

The authority was hoping to complete demolition work by June 17.
The local authority has been pulling down the building under Section 29 of the Dangerous Buildings (Scotland) Act, which gives them powers to bring down a site in the interest of public safety.
Mr Ung bought the hotel in 2010 for £750,000, reportedly with the intention of converting it into student residences.
His account on the social media site Instagram documents his love of designer clothes, travel, luxury watches and high-end cars, with barely a mention of his connection to Ayr.

In November the local authority's chief executive, Mike Newall, said the council had "made numerous attempts to contact him", but that Mr Ung "doesn't accept any correspondence" and hadn't been in touch with the council at all.
In 2021, Councillor Peter Henderson, who at the time was the local authority's leader, said the hotel’s owner owed the council £1.2 million for work carried out on the building.
A council spokesperson said: "Mr Ung has petitioned the Court of Session for the safety works to stop at the former Station Hotel.
"Work has been temporarily suspended until a hearing at the Court of Session on Friday.”
Allan Dorans, MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, said: "I understand that after a number of years of non communication with South Ayrshire Council that Mr Ung has now commenced legal proceedings against the council.
"This has stopped further demolition of the fire damaged, derelict building taking place at this time.
"The making safe, maintenance and partial demolition of this building has cost the Council millions of pounds to date.
"South Ayrshire Council has my full support in any legal proceeding particularly if it results in recovering Council Taxpayers money from Mr Ung, which could be better used for the benefit of the people of South Ayrshire."
Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, added: “Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on any on-going legal matters.
"I do hope the situation with the Station Hotel comes to a resolution as quickly as possible for the sake of my constituents, local businesses, and commuters.”

Ayrshire Roy said:

Looks like the owner has made an appearance and all work has halted.

Demolition of Station Hotel 'halted' amid claims of absentee owner court bid

Works to demolish the Station Hotel in Ayr have reportedly been halted after the site's owner challenged South Ayrshire Council in court.

www.ayradvertiser.com

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After all these years he suddenly becomes interested?!

I suspect that he's probably worried about a CPO of the land and losing his entire investment. Perhaps if he hadn't neglected the building over his years of ownership he wouldn't be in the situation he is today. I hope he loses the case.

Show him the true costs and see how far he runs!

Ashley Hill said:

Show him the true costs and see how far he runs!

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Exactly once South Ayrshire Council and Network Rail try to recoup their losses I'm sure he will vanish again.
Once a judge hears the amount of damage he has done to a town and its people through his negligence he won't have a leg to stand on in court.

Ayrshire Roy said:

Once a judge hears the amount of damage he has done to a town and its people through his negligence he won't have a leg to stand on in court.

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Whilst I’d love this to be the outcome - I’m sure it will be up to his representatives to fight the case, unlike Trump, he won’t be sitting in court. With the work being halted, the costs will continue to rise for the plant and machinery on site but I’m unsure whether this helps or hinders his investment- since trains haven’t restarted on the line, I do hope the council gets the owner to guarantee its costs in case of any settlement instead of disappearing back into the woodwork.

Friday - The Court of Session has ruled that the safety works (to demolish the remaining dangerous sections of the Station Hotel) can proceed. The council say the contractor will resume the task this weekend.

At least the owner will appreciate the futility of his actions?

Buzby said:

At least the owner will appreciate the futility of his actions?

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Doubt it, he'll just be annoyed he didn't get his way and make sure the council can't come knocking after his assets to recover their costs.

Apparently the council didn't give him notice.
He should of mibbe answered his phone at some point over the past few years.
That would probably explane why the demolition is continuing so quickly.

Rather bold of him to come out of the woodwork now. The 'not given prior notice' bit is more than a bit rich, considering his near total radio silence for the past decade or so. The safety of the public matters far more than the bank balance of an absentee overseas landlord who likely will vanish into the ether again once South Ayrshire Council and Network Rail start demanding compensation for losses incurred.

och aye said:

After all these years he suddenly becomes interested?!

I suspect that he's probably worried about a CPO of the land and losing his entire investment. Perhaps if he hadn't neglected the building over his years of ownership he wouldn't be in the situation he is today. I hope he loses the case.

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Precisely my thoughts. It was only open to guests for the first 3 years of his ownership (closed in 2013 iirc), then he shuttered it and left it to rot while we the taxpayer picked up the tab to secure it as it gradually deteriorated and the station's usabilty and safety suffered considerably as a result. Only cares when his bottom line is at risk. Considering the damage he's done to Ayr and is now also doing to Girvan, Maybole & Stranraer through his wanton neglect, I'm glad his legal action failed.

Ashley Hill said:

Show him the true costs and see how far he runs!

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If it were up to me, I'd bill him for the costs of hiring the plant equipment to demolish the building, the low-loader lorries needed to remove the two 156s stuck south of Ayr, the scaffolding and the costs of rehabilitating the railway infrastructure & driver refreshers/training for full service resumption. Heck, throw in the whole bloomin' emergency response to the September 2023 fire that he helped set in motion through a decade of neglect and ignoring virtually every attempt made at communication, in addition to the £1.5m he owes South Ayrshire Council. That really should put the wind up him and we'll never hear from him again.

Is that petty and vindictive? Yes. Is it legally and practically impossible? Absoloutely. Cathartic to the nth degree to imagine if it were possible? Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I make no apologies for this because, as noted multiple times in this thread, his wanton neglect has done untold socio-ecomonic damage to a region of Scotland that was already struggling economically before the second fire kneed it in the proverbial gut.

Interestingly, the report in The National makes reference to demolishing ”what remains of the building”. Make of that what you will…..

Anyone who has seen the building ‘in the flesh’ wouldn’t be surprised at this - the site will be cleared completely as the ‘Important’ elements of it have already gone.

No doubt the sale of the land will recoup some of the costs or fines the owner may receive.

Strathclyder said:

Considering the damage he's done to Ayr and is now also doing to Girvan, Maybole & Stranraer through his wanton neglect, I'm glad his legal action failed.

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What is his involvement in the other towns and villages you mention?

Rick1984 said:

What is his involvement in the other towns and villages you mention?

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Presumably indirectly cutting off their rail services is what Strathclyder was alluding to.

Ah I see

och aye said:

After all these years he suddenly becomes interested?!

I suspect that he's probably worried about a CPO of the land and losing his entire investment. Perhaps if he hadn't neglected the building over his years of ownership he wouldn't be in the situation he is today. I hope he loses the case.

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I suspect the costs already incurred by the council, which can be placed as a charge against the property (in England anyway, not sure if Scotland is the same) already exceed the value of the building / cleared site. I imagine his investment has been wiped out and a CPO would give him an exit from a negative value land-holding.