Scottish Government to decide if 'crumbling' nursery should be demolished

The Scottish Government will decide whether a crumbling Edwardian nursery school will survive the wrecking ball.

The owner of the building in Armadale has appealed against West Lothian Council’s latest refusal to demolish the crumbling building.

A Reporter appointed by the Division of Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) will determine the case.

The council’s Development Management Committee voted in March to reject a proposal to clear the site in Academy Street by its owner Lucas Land Purchases.

The school, on a prominent site in the town, has seen several attempts to demolish it and replace it with a housing development.

But the Development Management Committee in Livingston was split on its future when the latest application from the building’s owners came up. Councillor Willie Boyle urged fellow members to back demolition saying: “Armadale deserves better”.

In the latest move an agent for the owners has provided a written submission to the DPEA arguing that the listing refers to the wider site which contains two other school buildings.

The statement said: “ The school building group is C-Listed building with the HES Listing description and statement of importance noting that the main, two-storey building (current Primary School) is the main focus of the site.”

The agents argued that there have been “significant levels of marketing and development proposals over a 20 year period.”

The appeal paperwork added: “The building is not economically viable to convert, as agreed by Council Officers, and any further marketing would be disingenuous given the known evidence and would only attract unsuspecting buyers who would ultimately be faced with the same issues and therefore prolong the dereliction of the site with associated health and safety concerns.

“Crucially, there is no legal requirement for redevelopment proposals to come forward at the same time as demolition proposals as the building is not within a Conservation Area.”

The appeal had questioned the focus by councillors and planning officers on what buildings would replace the nursery should demolition be allowed. It argued that such questions are irrelevant to the application which was simply to determine whether the building should be demolished.

The current owners assumed ownership of the site from a family business and have no wish to develop it; they plan to sell it on for development.

Previous planning applications have detailed up to five houses built on the site.

A Reporter has yet to be appointed but a decision on the school’s future is expected by the Autumn