The Royal Hotel was constructed in 1866 in the village of Slamannan just outside of Falkirk commanding a prime location on the corner of Main Street.
In its prime the hotel was a popular destination but, from information provided by Historic Scotland, has lain vacant for more than 20 years. Owing to this the property has gradually succumbed to the elements and natural degradation resulting in a multitude of structural issues including the partial collapse of the rear extension.
Extensive enquiries were carried out which revealed that the last known owner had gone into liquidation with the company being officially dissolved. As such, the property was classed as “ownerless” and fell to the Crown under Bona Vacantia.
The Hotel was subsequently brought to the attention of KLTR by Falkirk Council in February 2023. The property was identified as being a suitable case for the then pilot Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS). Falkirk Council provided that they had already carried out consultations with the community and had agreed that the land, following demolition of the hotel, would be best used as a picnic area for use by both the local residents and visitors to the area. Having already secured agreement from interested parties, secured funding, provided a suitable business plan and provided evidence of public benefit and sustainability this application was deemed suitable for the OPTS fast track process which, by having carried out a large proportion of consultation and planning before submitting an application to KLTR, was able to reduce the time taken for the process to concluded.
The OPTS has now successfully concluded with the property being transferred to Falkirk Council on the 11th of March 2024. This is the first case to be successfully transferred under the new OPTS process, and was for the nominal sum of £1 plus KLTR costs.