The gasholder had been built between 1898 and 1902 to the design of W R Herring as part of a wider gasworks development and survived largely in its original form. The reporter remarked that it was an increasingly rare example of the gas industry in Scotland in the early 20th century and represented an important structure in the development of energy supplies for the city of Edinburgh. It also reflected economic history more widely as an illustration of advances made in technology in the fossil fuel era. He acknowledged that some replacement sections would be required but remarked that it was not uncommon for historic buildings to be substantially repaired over time without significant loss of authenticity. He decided that neither the condition of the building nor the extent of the repairs required indicated that the building should be removed from the statutory list.
With regard to the proposed demolition of the gasholder the reporter noted that the Historic Scotland guidance note on demolition included that where a building was capable of repair it would always be important to show that the property had been marketed for a reasonable period to a restoring purchaser at a price reflecting its condition. This had not been done. The history of the case did not demonstrate practical steps to try to keep the building, he found. Nor did he find that all efforts to retain the building had been exhausted. He considered that with wit and imagination a restored structure might frame a variety of leisure or commercial applications. The appellant discounted re-use, however, partly because it had not been done on such a scale before or with a mild steel structure. The reporter remarked, however, that lack of a precedent was no bar to imagination, and a restoring purchaser had not been given the opportunity to rise to the challenge.
Reporter Dannie Onn; Inquiry
