THE HISTORIC Grade B-listed Ayr Station Hotel was significantly damaged in a suspected arson attack on September 25, resulting in the suspension of services to the adjacent railway station for a number of weeks while Network Rail and South Ayrshire Council worked to make the fire-ravaged building safe and carry out necessary repairs to the surrounding railway as a result of the incident.
The hotel has been disused for almost a decade and is owned by a Malaysian businessman who has failed to engage with the local council about the deteriorating condition of the building, which has been causing concern for a number of years. Much of the structure was enclosed by scaffolding and plastic sheeting to protect the railway station and surrounding land from the danger of falling masonry and debris.
The fire on the evening of September 25 was not the first time that the closed hotel has been targeted, but was far more serious than previous incidents and any hopes that the building could find new owners and
