Aberdeenshire Council has revealed that it will take around eight months to flatten its former Gordon House offices in Inverurie – but bosses want to get it off the ground as soon as possible.
The local authority unveiled its plan to knock down the Blackhall Road facility back in November.
A building warrant lodged by officers stated that the demolition would come at a cost of £500,000.
When will the Gordon House demolition begin?
An update on the status of the building was recently given to members of the business services committee.
Officers had hoped the site would be closed by the end of December, but this has been delayed slightly.
However, it is expected that demolition of the former council HQ will start in March and could be done and dusted by November.
Councillors were told that “good progress” was being made clearing out the office block.
The Service Point and facilities team will be the last to make the move out of Gordon House.
This will ensure the building is secured up until demolition D-day.
A service point will stay in the town, but move to 93 High Street instead.
Why did the council want to demolish Gordon House so fast?
Council leader Gillian Owen stated that the local authority wanted to flatten and offload the site as soon as possible.
She explained that a quick demolition was needed to prevent vandals from causing problems on the site.
The councillor revealed that previous experience at one former vacant council building prompted the fast turnaround.
“If you think back to the old Ellon Academy we had fires, broken windows – it was just a complete riot.
“That is why we tried to move swiftly to demolish and and get a flattened site.”
She also said that an empty site would be more marketable and expects it will be sold to the highest bidder.
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