Councillors raise concerns over condition of former cinema building in Kilmarnock

Concerns have been raised about the condition of the former ABC Cinema in Kilmarnock town centre, as a council report confirmed there has been no progress on redevelopment of the site.

The Titchfield Street building was discussed during an East Ayrshire Council meeting about the updated Local Development Plan 2 Delivery Programme.

The report says the building should be marketed or developed for footfall-generating, residential or community uses, taking account of the emerging Kilmarnock town centre development framework and placemaking plan.

There had been hopes that development of the property was progressing in November 2022, when a planning application seeking a change of use to mixed use, including a food hall and assembly and leisure uses, was approved.

The first phase was expected to introduce a ground-floor food hall with independent “street food” stalls, with the possibility of complementary leisure uses on other floors.

However, the report states that there has been “no progress to date on redevelopment of the site”.

Officials also admitted that, despite the report stating that the council had been engaging with the building owner through the Vacant Buildings Repurposing Panel, recent attempts to get them to tidy up the front of the building had been unsuccessful.

During the meeting, Councillor Elaine Cowan said the former Picture House was one of the sites that had “jumped out” at her in the papers.

She said: “I’m quite surprised, probably a little bit alarmed, about the state of that building and there doesn’t seem to be any movement on it at the moment.”

Officers said there had been initial discussions about how to take the site forward, but stressed that the building is not in council ownership.

Chief Planning Officer, Pamela Clifford, said: “We have contacted the owners about the vegetation on the building,” adding that no action appeared to have been taken.

The officer said that the owners had previously been quick to act when the the issue had been raised, but had not engaged with the council this time.

Ms Clifford said she would be looking to get planning enforcement officers to speak to the owners of the cinema.

She added that the council had to be careful because of the ownership position, and said any work would need to be approached through legal routes.

She said that initial discussions had taken place with a conservation architect about a feasibility study for the building, but emphasised that the situation was complicated because of ownership.

The former ABC Cinema is one of several Kilmarnock town centre sites identified in the delivery programme.

The former Burlington Bertie’s site is also listed, with the report stating that the Kilmarnock Town Centre Masterplan will explore how it could be redeveloped as part of the wider vision for the town centre.