A BURNS club is under threat of closure following extensive damage to the property above.
Coalsnaughton Burns Club, outside of Tillicoultry, has reported that water damage to the vacant premises upstairs is beginning to impact its business.
The club states that water is running down the walls and impacting the stability of the building, putting the business and the nearby neighbours at risk.
Repairs to the building have currently been put on hold due to an ongoing dispute regarding the ownership of the property.
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Proprietors of the Burns Club state that three parties are liable for upkeep of the building – the club itself, the Lifestyle Express store next door and a company called Bridging Loans ltd who they claim have inherited the ownership of the vacant lot.
Jason Frew, on behalf of the Burns Club, said they are willing to pay their share of the repair work to ensure the club can continue to trade so long as the owners also do so.
He told the Alloa Advertiser: “The guttering has been neglected and this causes it to overflow – we’ve spent a fair sum of money trying to restore parts of the building.
“We repaired all the sandstone and the traditional plaster but because of the neglect to the gutters, the water has cascaded over and the plaster’s blown off the wall.
“We worry that the gable end could collapse on the left-hand side which could potentially impact the driveway of the people that live in the house next to the building.”
A dangerous building notice was placed on the upstairs property on November 25, meaning nobody could use it until repairs were made.
Frew explained that loose tiles on the roof were removed recently, but the hole caused by them was not sealed, allowing water to easily run into the properties.
He added: “To the right of our bar, there is a space in the ceiling where there is water continually running into the building.
“You can hear water dripping into the space behind the bar from the flat roof above.
“Due to the money that we’ve had to spend paying for work on the building, it threatens our ability to fund community projects.”
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Bridging Loans are said to maintain the position they had loaned money to the owner of the building, a Akhtar, who they claim is still responsible for the any work done to the property.
This is rebuffed by the Burns Club, who assert that due to Akhtar’s failure to pay back the loan, Bridging Loans become heritable owners of the building as per Scots law.
This would make Bridging Loans a major shareholder of the building and require them to pay 50% of any damage costs, with the remaining 50% being split evenly between the club and Lifestyle Express.
No one from Bridging Loans was not available for comment when contacted by the Alloa Advertiser.
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