Former Keith council office building to be marketed.

A landmark building which formerly served as the local council offices in Keith was officially declared surplus to requirements today.

The Institute in Mid Street will now be actively marketed in the hope that a new purpose can be found for it.

Moray councillors were told that the building no longer had any strategic operational use by the council and there had been no community interest in taking it over.

Plans to spend £166,000 on repairs to make it a more attractive proposition for potential future use have now been abandoned.

The Institute – which had housed council offices for many years – was closed in 2012 because of its deteriorating condition.

Efforts were made along with the Keith and Strathisla Regeneration Partnership to find a use for the building and last year the possibility emerged of £90,000 of funding being made available from the Keith conservation area regeneration scheme, with Moray Council meeting the balance of £76,000.

However, the offer of £90,000 was withdrawn when the proposal was referred to Historic Environment Scotland which concluded that the investment could not be justified in view of the fact that no long-term use had been identified for the building.

A report to today’s meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee said the £76,000 of council money earmarked for repairs was insufficient to make a significant difference to the building.

It was agreed that any repairs would only be undertaken to keep the building safe and wind and water tight and that it would be actively marketed and that the council would consider all potential options for its future.