Demolition dispute continues over JM Barrie home

May 15 2009 by Jackie Grant, Dumfries Standard Friday

A ROW is rumbling on this week over the proposed demolition of the Dumfries building made famous by Peter Pan author JM Barrie.

Loreburn Housing Association (LHA) Chief Executive Ahsan Khan hit back at claims by architect Luke Moloney that the condition of Moat Brae House deteriorated since the building was acquired by the association.

A member of the Peter Pan House Action Group, Mr Moloney also said the restoration of the B-listed house is still possible, and appealed to Mr Khan to think again before bulldozing the building.

Mr Khan said: “I take extreme exception to Luke Moloney’s statement. We have carried out only the works that have been necessary to secure and make safe the property.

“It is incorrect to say that boarding the windows left the building with inadequate ventilation. The property has certainly not deteriorated as a result of our involvement. It must be very obvious to all that Loreburn has arrested the decline, and has spent significant sums to do so.”

However, he also said that Loreburn’s committee would consider a proposal from the action group to take the property on in a bid to save it from being demolished.

Roger Windsor of the action group said: “The setting-up of a Moat Brae Building Preservation Trust seems to be an appropriate solution to save Moat Brae House.”

And Mr Moloney said: “A building preservation trust is a voluntary organisation and would have charitable status, and could therefore raise and co-ordinate various forms of finance such as grants from central and local government; low-interest loans from the Architectural Heritage Fund; and donations, gifts in kind and concessionary loans from companies, charitable trusts and the public.

“As its primary objective would simply and specifically be the restoration of Moat Brae, the trust would be unlikely to cut architectural corners in the interests of quick profit, but would return the house and its gardens to something of their original state of beauty and order, with the appropriate craftsmanship and quality of detailing, and thus returning something magical, and of great and real value to our town.”

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: “We hope that a positive outcome can be found for this fine house. Any proposal to alter a listed building requires an application for listed building consent.”