Historic buildings agency says Jedburgh 'ruin' can go

EXCLUSIVE by EWAN LAMB

Proposals to demolish one of the most prominent buildings in Jedburgh town centre seem certain to be sanctioned after Historic Environment Scotland [HES] indicated it would not oppose the loss of the crumbling listed property.

A handful of objections have been lodged with Scottish Borders Council after the local authority applied for listed building consent to bulldoze the nineteenth century tenement at the junction of High Street and Market Place. The building has been shrouded in scaffolding for several years after being declared unsafe.

In a written submission to the council HES state: "This application proposes the total demolition of 2 High Street & 12 Market Place, Jedburgh. The building is a traditional 1860s Baronial tenement by the Glasgow firm of Clarke & Bell, incorporating shops on the ground floor and occupying a prominent corner position within Jedburgh’s Conservation Area.

"The loss of this C listed building would have a significant and unwelcome impact on the historic environment. National policy and guidance on the historic environment contains a strong presumption to retain listed buildings. In certain circumstances the loss of a listed building will be acceptable, provided it can be clearly demonstrated and justified".

HES explains one of the circumstances was where the repair and reuse of a listed building was not economically viable, which was being argued in this case.

"It should also be demonstrated that all reasonable efforts have been made to retain the listed building, which should also include the marketing of a building. In reviewing the supporting information, we consider it is a reasonable conclusion that the retention and reuse of the building is not going to be economically viable.

"While we have not undertaken an exhaustive analysis of the figures presented, we have taken internal advice and the costs and values do appear reasonable. Further analysis and refinement of the figures has the potential to reduce costs (potentially remove some double counting), however, given the extent of the deficit, we wouldn’t expect this to make a significant difference. We also wouldn’t expect the deficit – or conservation deficit – to be bridged by other sources of funding, such as grant aid, again due to the extent of the shortfall.

"It is an expectation that in most cases a listed building will be marketed to substantiate the demolition argument on viability grounds. This is not something that we would insist upon in this case. The structural condition of the building, complexities around ownership and, of course, the costs associated with retention and reuse (the extent of the deficit) mean we must question the value in undertaking a marketing exercise."

The recent history of the Council’s involvement with the building showed that efforts were made to secure the repair of the building.

"We visited the building in September 2018 and could see some of these efforts ourselves – work on the original Dangerous Building Notice started, only to be put on hold once the full extent of the condition on the elevation facing Market Place became clear. The impact of demolition, if approved, would go beyond the loss of an individual listed building."

HES add: "We have therefore encouraged a holistic approach to decision making in this case, recognising the wider impact of demolition on Jedburgh’s historic environment. Demolition would negatively impact on the character and appearance of Jedburgh’s Conservation Area and has potential implications for the immediately adjacent buildings. Both are listed; 4-6 High Street at Category C and 3-5 Exchange Street at Category A. The latter was built as a branch of the Commercial Bank by David Rhind in 1868."

In summary, HES claims demolition of this listed building would, unquestionably, be a bad outcome for Jedburgh’s historic environment.

"We would be anxious to work with your Council to prevent any other buildings in the town falling into similar levels of disrepair, to the extent where demolition is an option. However, in this case recognising the considerable complexities that need to be overcome in order to save the listed building – the most serious being the considerable financial deficit illustrated for its repair and re-use – we must conclude this is unlikely to happen and its retention is likely untenable.

"We therefore consider a convincing, yet regrettable, case for demolishing this listed building has been put forward and we do not object to its loss."