Hopes remain for a fire-torn Moray nightclub – despite it failing to attract a buyer after being auctioned for a second time.
The owners of the derelict Jailhouse premises, which is in the centre of Elgin, are eager for it to be transformed into a student accommodation complex.
Architects have drawn up plans detailing how its three storeys could be transformed to host 40 rooms.
But the venue has now failed to sell at auction twice in the last month, even though Edinburgh-based Wilson’s auctioneers lowered its asking price from £35,000 to £29,000 to attract investors.
Although the dilapidated former nightspot has not attracted any formal offers, Elgin City South councillor John Divers believes that there remains some interest in developing it.
Mr Divers, who is a director of the Elgin Business Improvement District (Bid) group, said he had looked into the matter yesterday.
He said: “My understanding is that some interest is still being shown, even though there were no bids for it at auction.
“From what I can gather, it is down to a matter of timing.
“Perhaps if it went back on the market at a later date, it could well be sold then.”
Mr Divers said that, since falling into disrepair after a blaze in 1998, the club has become home to flocks of pigeons.
He added: “It’s a mess internally, there are huge holes in the roof so it will need a lot of work.
“But it is in a prime location, and a lot of people in Elgin are keen to see development in the centre of the town.
“Many feel it would be best suited as a student accommodation complex – but I would welcome any sensible suggestion that gets it back into use.”
Mr Divers added that he had fond memories of the “novel” club from its brief existence in the late 1990s, when he served on the council’s licensing committee.
The venue opened at the start of 1997, but was forced to close following a fire the following July.
The Jailhouse club was designed to resemble an American prison, with cells, iron bars and even an electric chair which was used to perform mock executions on a dummy prisoner.
