A building in Portobello which has been empty for nine years is being left to decay “in plain sight”, according to the people who want to refurbish the former Art Deco cinema.
Officers have recommended that the Planning Committee does not impose a defective building notice on the premises at Bath Street to ensure it becomes wind and watertight. This ignores all pleas from the Save the George campaign group who persist in trying to acquire and restore the cinema.
Friends of the George (FoTG) say in their written deputation that council officers are allowing the owner of the listed building, Buckley Building Ltd, to pursue a “strategy of demolition via neglect, in plain sight”.
A spokesperson for FoTG said: “We are incredibly disappointed that Council officials have apparently decided it is acceptable for the owner of a Listed building to fail to maintain it and then cite the resulting dilapidation as the cause for inaction and the suggestion in the report that the damage is already done and there is ‘no guarantee’ that fixing holes in the flat roof will arrest water ingress and prevent further deterioration, stretches credulity.
“Friends of The George want to repair, restore and transform this valued local landmark – a Listed Building and the last Art Deco building in Portobello – into a commercially run, community-focused cinema that would contribute to the social wellbeing and the economic resilience of the area, creating new jobs and training opportunities.
“We have developed plans demonstrating a positive alternative future – underpinned by expert operational and architectural feasibility studies – which could see the rejuvenation of this Listed Building as an iconic venue with wide ranging benefits to the Portobello community and beyond.
“There continues to be widespread opposition from the local community to this iconic building being demolished and redeveloped into luxury flats, because there is an alternative strategy for the future of this building.”
Planning Committee November 2024
At last year’s Planning Committee council officers reported that even though the building would benefit from repair it was not necessary for the council to impose any notice on it to ensure it is preserved.
The owners applied unsuccessfully last year to Historic Environment Scotland have the building delisted – it is a category C listed building and lies in the Portobello Conservation area.
As it remains a listed building the council could serve a defective buildings notice or make a compulsory purchase and carry out any works themselves. But last November officers said they would not propose taking any steps towards compulsory purchase, recognising that the costs of repairs would be “substantial”. FoTG has already been in contact with the council to ask them to acquire the building on their behalf to allow the Friends to then make a community asset transfer, repair and reinstate the cinema. But the council suggested they would mot need to be involved in such a process and a “better route for the community to acquire the building” would be for the Friends to engage with The Scottish Government.
FoTG written statement follows:
“We are incredibly disappointed that – despite all the evidence we have documented and presented to the Council over many years including most recently, drone surveys, scope of works for urgent repairs and photography (all commissioned by us, at our expense) – officers have apparently decided it is acceptable for the owner of a Listed building to effectively pursue what some might describe as a strategy of demolition via neglect, in plain sight.
“While it is the obligation of the owner of a Listed Building to maintain its condition, the City of Edinburgh Council has powers (Section 49 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997) to ensure that those works required for the building’s preservation, in order to halt its deterioration and improve its chances of economic re-use, are undertaken. The owner has not undertaken even basic maintenance over many years. The Council has so far been reluctant to use its powers.
“We have repeatedly asked the Council to ensure the owners keep the building wind and watertight, most recently asking that they fix the holes in the flat-roofed section to the front of the building (the primary source of water ingress). The owner has indeed been instructed to do so, but rather incredulously, the council still stops short of enforcement action. The suggestion in the Council report that the damage is already done – and there is ‘no guarantee’ these simple repairs will arrest water ingress entirely, stretches credulity.
“The presence of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) has frequently been cited as a reason for inaction. In reality, it is water ingress, principally entering the building through obvious holes in a specific section of the flat asphalt roof which is causing the localised collapse of internal linings and disturbing ACMs, inside the building. It is therefore ironic that the dilapidation resulting from a lack of basic maintenance is now being cited as the cause for inaction.
“Our professional consultants have itemised a range of urgently required and relatively simple repairs which would significantly arrest the root cause of ongoing decay and dilapidation. These repairs are in our view deliverable economically (the cost is minimal) and should be undertaken immediately given the statutory obligation of the owners of Listed Buildings to make reasonable efforts to retain the building’s integrity. This report has been made available to councillors and council officers.
“That council officers appear to take a view that no action should be taken to arrest water ingress (in case it did not appear ‘even handed’) given the Local Authority themselves may have stewardship of listed buildings in need of maintenance or repair, is extremely concerning given their role in ensuring the continued integrity of listed heritage assets.
“Since the current owners acquired the building in 2016, it has been the subject of two failed Listed Building Consent applications (for partial demolition) and their subsequent Appeals, and a delisting application (to facilitate full demolition) and Appeal. Each time the local authority and the Scottish Ministers (DPEA) have determined The George is not beyond repair and retention; these are matters that have now been exhaustively examined over the past 9 years. Read the decision notice here.
“The Friends of The George is a group of local people, including professionals in arts management, finance, architecture, theatre, film and fundraising with a developed plan (underpinned by expert commercial and architectural feasibility studies) to restore the building as a commercially run, community-focused cinema that would contribute to the social wellbeing and the economic resilience of the area, creating new jobs and training opportunities.
“The current owners propose 20+ luxury apartments on the site – properties that only a certain section of the community would be able to afford. In the context of significant residential development in the area over recent and forthcoming years, the suggestion that these luxury apartments will contribute to the city’s housing stock, is facile.
“There continues to be widespread opposition from the local community to this much-valued landmark being demolished and redeveloped into luxury flats, because there is an alternative, community-led future for the building.”
The Planning Committee will take place on Wednesday at 10am. The papers are here with a link to the webcast which can be watched live or after the meeting is over.
