A DERELICT building described as an ‘embarrassment to the parish’ will be demolished after offers from community groups to use it were not deemed enough to cover renovation costs.

The Dorcan Pavilion on Greenbridge Road has been left to decay for around five years and Stratton parish councillors were keen to give it a new lease of life.

Church, sports and scout groups expressed interest in using the building if it were renovated – but transforming the former changing rooms would have cost the council up to £36,000.

Coun Joe Tray said: “It’s a blight on the landscape and an embarrassment to the parish council. We have a duty of care to the people of the parish and leaving the building vacant would encourage vandalism, drug use or even arson.”

Demolition would cost £8,800, getting rid of the pavilion’s leaking asbestos-filled roof and installing a new pitched roof would cost £16,000.

Demolishing the structure and rebuilding it as a multi-purpose hall with a more open-plan layout would cost £36,000.

Open spaces manager Oliver Saunders said: “We had eight interested parties saying they would like to use it.

“Four were sports groups, though the American football group decided it was not suitable after assessing the field next to it.

“A couple of church groups and scout groups approached us but we don’t think we would get enough use out of it to justify the expense.

“We would need to get 30 to 40 years of life out of the multi-purpose hall to make it worthwhile – and besides, we don’t have the money at this stage to pay for it.

“It’s poorly-designed but well-built and it has great access, with a tarmac car park next door. Once we take it back to ground level, it has a lot of potential.”

Though the building’s days are numbered, the site may not stay empty forever.

WHSmith plans to develop flats around the area next to its headquarters in the near future. The parish council expects to receive Section 106 money from that development to make up for the low open spaces provision in the plans.

Some of this money could go towards constructing new facilities on the site of the pavilion, which is just down the road from WHSmith HQ.

The parish council agreed to demolish the pavilion but retain its hard-standing framework to keep open the option to build something else in its place at a later date.

The building was originally three changing room areas – one each for the home and away teams and one for the referee.