Elected Member Briefing Note 2025, No. 82

About this Briefing Note

Report by:  Stephen Crawford - Strategic Lead - Property Services 

Date: 26 June 2025

Subject: Former Balhousie Primary update

Purpose

To provide an update on the status of the former Balhousie Primary School building following the fire in the building in the early hours of Sunday morning (22 June 2025). 

Briefing Information

As Elected Members may have seen from media/ online coverage or from passing the site, the significant blaze, while tackled quickly by fire services, has unfortunately reduced the building to a shell. 

Site investigation 

As the police announced on Sunday, the cause of the fire is currently unexplained. Due to the condition of the building further investigations were required to allow police and fire to consider whether they required to maintain control of the site. 

An initial visual assessment was undertaken by an independent structural engineer on Sunday evening, with a more detailed second assessment undertaken by them on Wednesday 25 June with more suitable access equipment.  

The advice received was that the building is too unsafe to undertake any on-site criminal and fire investigations. As a result police indicated they no longer required to retain the site and it was handed back to Perth and Kinross Council at 10am this morning (26 June 2025). Security arrangements have been put in place for management of the site. 

Future of building 

The independent structural survey has indicated serious structural concerns for the building and recommends demolition. As a result, in accordance with their statutory role, the Council's Building Standards Team have served a Dangerous Buildings Notice on the Chief Executive of Perth and Kinross Council instructing that we: 

1. Secure the area surrounding the building to prevent access to any area considered at risk from the building. 
2. Demolish the building in line with the structural engineer's report. 

Our Planning Team have already been in touch with Historic Environment Scotland and will continue to liaise with them on the situation. 

Property Services are taking over the project now of actioning the Dangerous Buildings Notice recommendations and will liaise with colleagues, neighbours and the community on next steps. In the meantime, asbestos monitoring has been installed to the boundaries of the site and to date has been negative for additional airborne particles beyond that normally recorded in the environment.