THE OWNER of Girvan’s former cinema building has written to the council asking them for funding to help repair it.

Members of Girvan Town Team along with Girvan and South Carrick councillors have been trying to contact Baron Bloom to encourage him to take responsibility for his property.

The group heard how Baron Bloom had been in contact with Cllr Alec Clark asking the council for money to fix it.

Ann McGinnis explained: “There had been a letter back from Baron Bloom who owns the building. He is looking for funding to fix it up from the council.”

Ernie Kenny said: “My understanding is that many towns are full of charity shops because they they get tax concessions.

“The council should be questioning themselves in the future about increasing the rates as a lot of buildings are being abandoned.”

Denise Hogarth told members about the Barclay Review and the Fresh Start Scheme which focuses on bringing old buildings back to life.

Ms Hogarth thought applying to these organisations for funding could be an option and said she would contact councillors to see if this was a possibility. 

South Ayrshire Council informed the Carrick Herald this could only be an option if the building was completely abandoned and no longer owned by the Baron.

Mike Newall, South Ayrshire Council’s head of Neighbourhood Services, said: ““We’ve been in contact with the owner about the deterioration of the building and recently carried out temporary work at the rear of the property and on the roof. 

“This was necessary to make the structure safe and to prevent further damage. Given the building is privately owned, we’re now working with the owner to recover the costs. 

“We will continue to review conditions and expect further progress to be made in the near future to help bring this property up to an acceptable standard.”