A listed ex-furniture store destroyed by deliberate fire last week is to be demolished. Willison House on Dundee's Barrack Street was set on fire on Saturday November 12.
Firefighters battled for hours to bring the blaze under control and a police investigation is underway after cops determined the fire was set deliberately.
Council chiefs have now taken control of the site after it was made safe by emergency services and has concluded that the building is too unsafe to leave standing. The grade A-listed block is to be demolished, with the public purse taking the hit until the costs can be recovered from the owners.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Only the exterior walls of the building have been left following the fire and these are in a dangerous condition and likely to collapse. That is why we have a duty in the interests of public safety to move as quickly as possible to demolish what is left of this once-fine building.
"Despite our efforts to consider how much of Willison House could be retained, the extent of the fire has left nothing that can be saved. Due to the urgency of the situation, the cost of demolition will be met by the council. The council will be pursuing the owner for reimbursement.
“The exclusion zone will be maintained in the meantime in the interests of public safety. The work will be carried out as quickly as possible to allow the situation for business in the surrounding area to return to normal.”
Council chiefs say the floor and roof were "entirely consumed" by the fire, which spewed hot ashes high into the skies over Dundee city centre on Saturday. Building standards officers found that the internal steel frame holding the construction together buckled in the heat, meaning demolition was "the only viable action".
Police in Dundee are continuing to probe the cause of the fire. Detectives are said to be pursuing "a number of lines of enquiry" to identify those responsible.
Detective Sergeant Stuart Martin, from Dundee CID, said: “This was a reckless and dangerous act of fireraising, which has caused significant damage and disruption to the area. We have spoken with a number of witnesses and would appeal for anyone with information on the incident to come forward and assist our enquiries.”
Official records show that Willison House, formerly the Robertson's furniture store, is owned by Structured House Group, a developer based in Glasgow. The firm paid just over £1 million to buy the building four years ago, months after securing planning permission to convert it into a hotel.
Its plans were allowed to lapse, and a new bid to convert the building into student accommodation was introduced by KR Developments, an Edinburgh property firm, earlier this year. A KR Developments spokesperson told Dundee's Courier newspaper: "We’ve no idea at the moment what [the fire] means for our plans and that will all have to be worked through with the owners and other stakeholders."
The building had been grade A listed because of its unique Art Deco frontage – what the status means for any potential rebuild is unclear. Structured House was contacted for comment.
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