Work to restore an endangered historical building in Catrine, East Ayrshire is taking shape.

The three-storey tenement at 19-25 St Germain Street, which houses six flats and two commercial units, is the first to benefit from the council's Town Centre Vacant and Derelict Buildings Grant Scheme.

Local firm Donald Reid & Sons is currently carrying out repairs to the building, in accordance with a design drawn up by CMS Structural Designs. Completion is scheduled for mid-November.

Originally commissioned by the Co-Op in 1903, the building was designed by William Newlands and Gabriel Andrew, who was the "retained" architect for Johnnie Walker & Sons at the time.

However in recent times, the building had fallen into disrepair, with a Dangerous Building Notice issued in March 2012, meaning that a structural engineer was appointed to carry out regular inspections and make recommendations.

The main issue lay with the balustrades on the first and second floor which give access to the flats via open fronted balconies at the rear of the building. The owners and tenants had to be evacuated while the engineers designed and installed a temporary system of props to allow safe passage until the balconies, which had come to the end of their structural lifespan, could be replaced.

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The owners of most of the eight properties teamed up, set up a Trust and deposited funds in a bank account to contribute 50% of the costs of the £62,000 project.

Cllr Jim Roberts said: "All building owners have a responsibility and duty of care to keep their buildings in a fit state of repair, and while many owners have made great strides with the restoration of buildings in specific town centre locations thanks to our Conservation Area Regeneration Schemes (CARS), we are all conscious of other buildings in our communities which are in desperate need of attention and in danger of demolition. This is why we set up this Vacant and Derelict Buildings Grant Scheme, to help save our most at risk buildings and safeguard them for the future.

"19-25 St Germain Street, Catrine is the first such building to benefit from this new scheme which will allow us to step in and help lessen the impact of poorly maintained buildings on our streets.

"In this case the owners have been very keen to work with us to save this building. Without their own contributions and co-operation with us, it eventually have been necessary to evacute the upper floors, making the occupants homeless.

"The scheme will bring the building back into a safe condition, with the replacement of the two access balconies, repair and renewal of cast iron gutters and downpipes and partial replacement f the ground floor shop roof. A future maintenance plan for the building will also be agreed."

(LM/MH)