Several Isle of Bute landmarks feature on a national register that has now been paused, amid wider concerns over how historic buildings across Argyll and Bute are being monitored.
The Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) currently includes Rothesay Pavilion, which Argyll and Bute Council recently announced could be fully renovated by early 2027.
Also included is the former Rothesay Academy.
A major review has questioned the impact of the register regarding funding and planning decisions, as well as saving historic properties.
And it has now been frozen, with a statement on its website saying that it has been paused ‘while we consider options for its future’.
The options laid out in the report include improving its accuracy and usefulness, or scrapping it entirely and concentrating efforts elsewhere.
The BARR website lists a total of 187 buildings across Argyll and Bute that are currently deemed to be at risk, with only a handful listed as having renovation work taking place.
Others listed as being at risk include St Peters Seminary in Cardross, which could yet win global importance status.
The White Hart Hotel in Campbeltown, which was subject of a dangerous building notice from Argyll and Bute Council in May 2023, also features in the listing.
Also included are the Oa Parish Church on Islay, and Dalmally railway station signal box.
The report highlights that the main users of the register are those in the historic environment sector and that only a minority of users were those actively seeking to buy and restore properties.
It is reported that across Scotland, only 53 per cent of buildings granted consent for demolition were ever recorded on the register, meaning many historic properties may have been lost without formal recognition.
While results of the survey suggest the view of the BARR information is mainly positive, it adds: “There was nevertheless a substantial minority of users who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the accuracy of the data.”
The interviews showed that concerns focused primarily on the incompleteness of the BARR and had two major components: one is that many entries have not been recently updated; the other is that there are many buildings at risk that are not on the BARR.
Historic Environment Scotland has not made a final decision on the future of the BARR.
