Old Eric Gray building and former Scalloway youth centre edge closer to demolition
TWO prominent buildings in Lerwick and Scalloway are edging closer to being demolished.
Plans are now in from Shetland Islands Council for the old Eric Gray Centre at Kantersted Road to be removed after councillors gave the move their backing earlier this year.
The building has been left dormant after the new Eric Gray opened across the road at the start of the year.
The old youth centre building on Scalloway’s Main Street, meanwhile, is also set to be demolished.
Plans have been submitted by owner Malakoff to remove the building, which has been largely vacant since the current youth centre opened in 1996.
Consent was previously granted for the demolition in 2013, but it has expired, with the work back on the agenda after removal of the old youth centre was highlighted in discussions through the Re-create Scalloway project.
The cost and practicalities of bringing the building up to current standards and re-using it is not deemed a viable option.
The proposal is to leave the stone retaining wall immediately adjacent to the road in place, and for the land to remain an open area.
Elsewhere in Scalloway plans have also been submitted by the local community council for a number of interpretation and information boards around the village.
Both the demolition of the old youth centre and the Scalloway information boards have received a slice of money from a new pot of funding from the Scottish Government designed to improve town centres.
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