AN EYESORE Borders building which has been deemed a risk to public safety is to be demolished.

A planning application was submitted to Scottish Borders Council to flatten a former industrial workshop at 4-6 Bourtree Terrace, Hawick.

A report with the planning bid, from Edinburgh-based Robert Tams, says: “It is proposed to demolish the rear of the building and make tidy the site and the two adjoining building wall facings.

“The demolition works are urgently required. It has now become a clear and obvious risk in terms of the safety of the public and the well-being of the adjoining buildings.

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“To date the applicant has carried out the soft strip of the property to make it safer and reduce the risk of potential fire hazard should youngsters enter with the wrong intentions.

“The longer-term aspiration is to redevelop the site for residential use with four flats under croft parking being the likely format.”

In a report endorsing the demolition, council planner Stuart Small says: “The structural survey indicates that the building is in very poor condition and recommends demolition ahead of winter.

“No alternative options appear to have been investigated, however given the very poor condition indicated, the altered nature of the building, its position away from the main road in the conservation area and recent planning history, its demolition can be accepted.”