Update on vandalism and fire raising incidents
Following the recent vandalism and deliberate fire raising incidents at the former Greenmill Primary School and Auchinleck Academy building, East Ayrshire Council has been working with partners to secure the sites, to discourage further unauthorised access and to keep the public safe.
There has been significant damage at Auchinleck Academy and the Building Standards Service has now confirmed that the fire damaged building is in a structurally dangerous condition and that demolition is necessary to maintain public safety.
The perimeter around the fire damaged part of the building is being secured with herras fencing and a demolition contractor is on site today to start the demolition of the fire-damaged portion of the building. The rest of the building will continue to be secured until such times as the current planned demolition is undertaken. The demolition contract for the remainder of the building is already out to tender and will be progressed following conclusion of this process.
Public concerns were raised that vandals had formed a hole in the exterior of the building at Auchinleck Academy however this was secured before the current incident. There however remains an ongoing challenge of persistent, ongoing and deliberate vandalism and criminal activity at the site that we continue to take daily action to mitigate and prevent.
There has been no significant damage to Greenmill Primary School and the damaged security panels have been reinstated to prevent and discourage further unauthorised access.
Additional security has been deployed at both sites.
Joint education visits to local schools will be arranged with Police and Fire colleagues and Vibrant Communities will link with local youth groups to continue to raise awareness of the dangers involved around unauthorised access to unused buildings.
It is important that no-one enters an empty building. They are dangerous and unsafe. We would continue to ask for the community’s assistance and if you spot anything unusual, please call 01563 555525 during working hours or 0345 724 0000 out of hours to report anything you’ve seen.