DS5 - Derelict Sunday

This is the former Waverley Hotel in Perth which has been derelict for many years now after it was bought by the owners of Stagecoach in an alleged attempt to stop the development of accommodation for vulnerable people which happens to be next door to the church they attend....
They had wanted to demolish it and build a gym and a hall for the church but this has been blocked by Historic Scotland as the building is a grade C listed building...

Last week there was a fire in the building apparently set by some youths..Police hunting hooded youths after 'suspicious' fire at Waverley Hotel in Perth   

Whilst I agreed with Historic Scotland's bid to stop the local council from demolishing the beautiful civic hall in the centre of the town...which has also lain empty for many years...and has apparently fallen into some disrepair....I cannot understand why they continue to block attempts to rid Perth of eyesores like this derelict hotel and the derelict church in the centre of town...both buildings are now a danger to the public whereas the civic hall is not and has never been...plus there are now plans to turn it into a market hall....

I guess they cannot make exceptions to their stance on listed buildings and understand this as we would be in great danger of losing our heritage if this were allowed to happen...maybe there should be some way of forcing the owners of these buildings to make them right again rather than leaving them to rot and become targets for vandals...

In the case of this hotel it seems that the way of avoiding responsibility for the state of these decaying buildings is to put them up for sale...no-one in their right mind will ever buy them..so the communities are left with major eyesores in what is otherwise a beautiful city....

So there it is...rant over!