Historic Yell building could be saved from demolition

Councillors will be asked to refuse the complete demolition of a historic merchants house in Yell at a planning meeting next week. 

An application from Lindsay Laurenson was submitted to demolish the category C listed building on the Mid Yell waterfront earlier this year on the grounds of public safety. 

However, council officials and Historic Environment Scotland have voiced concerns about the lack of detail in the plans.

After Laurenson’s application was submitted, a case officer visited the site on 1st May to assess the threat the building could cause. 

At next Wednesday morning’s planning meeting officials will recommend plans to demolish the building are refused.

The recommendation from officials was based on a lack of “viable” options suggested in the application submitted by Laurenson.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) also said there is a lack of detail in the application to support the demolition. 

HES described the building as in a “poor state of repair” but the application had failed to demonstrate that the walls of the building were “actively” moving.

The historical group also said the request to demolish the building was “not supported” by evidence that could bring the building back into use and therefore “does not make the case” unviable.