Derelict Kilmarnock ABC cinema receives no bids at auction for £380,000. The future of the historic building remains unclear.
Historic Scotland listed the old cinema as Grade B in 2002. People planned to reopen it many times after closing, however, these plans never actually happened.
In 2008, the Kilmarnock Standard wrote about town regeneration, which included the ABC building. It was then for sale in 2013.
An inspection in 2014 saw damage with shrubs growing on the roof and a drain pipe leaking. It was for sale again in 2019 with a guide price of £225,000.
That same year, the council had a regeneration plan which included the ABC cinema. They wanted to bring it back to life as part of a town plan.
Rishi Magon’s company has owned the building since 1999. In 2022, he shared plans to turn it into a food market, despite the building being derelict.
He said it was a shame it was in poor shape and planned a large investment. Building costs increased due to Covid and funding was hard to get, so he was mostly using his own money.
The council lists it as derelict and dangerous and it has a ‘moderate’ risk on a building register.
Magon thinks the building looks worse than it is. They repaired the roof before Christmas, fixing the water issue. Previous owners completed demolition already.
It was supposed to be an indoor market at first, but that idea did not work out. They looked at selling to the council, but talks failed after one or two years.
The council discussed the cinema in 2023 at a governance meeting.
David Mitchell spoke about the owner’s repairs. He said the owner did the minimum required repairs, therefore, the council’s power was limited.
Mitchell said it does not improve the town’s look. The owner never planned to sell it, except at a high price, and the council had no use for the building.
The building is “listed,” doubling repair costs. The owner does just enough to keep it safe and has mentioned future plans but done nothing so far.
The building lost original features long ago. Only the steel balcony structure remains, designed by an architect from Airdrie, and there are no seats there now.