A building on Stonehaven’s High Street, first constructed as an Episcopal school, will have extensive works to restore it to a standard fit for purpose as Stonehaven’s youth club – if plans for its restoration and refurbishment get the go-ahead.
Kincardine and Mearns Youth Clubs are seeking full planning permission and listed building consent for alterations and upgrades to what later became the Sea Cadet building – including the installation of solar panels.
Last year, the fledgling Youth Club charity acquired a 30-year lease for the building from Aberdeenshire Council after a successful Community Asset Transfer request.
Read more: What’s happening to our community spaces?
Listed but not protected from dilapidation
The planning application makes for sad reading as it is clear the C-listed building has been poorly maintained and significant work needs to be undertaken – all of which is described in documents attached to the application.
According to the window condition survey, all windows are in ‘poor condition’. Timber decay is prevelant.
The litany of failed maintenance continues: ”Surrounding masonry and render of the openings is in extremely poor condition with substantial portions of pointing noted as compromised or missing entirely.”
And: ”External paint decoration has been under applied over an extended period and many maintenance cycles have been missed. This is evidenced by the presenting of primer only and exposed bare timber surfaces to all windows. The paint system has since broken down to bare timbers in the lower portion of each window, allowing moisture to penetrate the windows in strategically critical areas.”
Breathing new life
The proposals include repairs to ‘aged and porous slates’ on the roof; and work to external walls which, ‘Show signs of disrepair in the form of weathered, delaminating stonework and deteriorated pointing.’
But the familiar High Street building could continue its history of service to the youth of Stonehaven. According to the design statement, ”the proposed repairs aim to safeguard the building’s historical and architectural value while ensuring its continued use and presence in the community.”
Full details of the applications are available online – along with a facility to comment.
