Members of a conservation charity have voiced their "shock" at the "level of demolition" carried out at Ayr Station Hotel.

SAVE Britain's Heritage, a charity created to campaign for endangered public historic buildings, said it was surprised by the work undertaken at the fire damaged building over the weekend (December 2 and 3).

In a statement to the Ayr Advertiser, the charity said that parts of the building that were demolished did not have to be in order to re-open an adjoining road.

South Ayrshire Council has defended its actions, saying that those working on the site are best placed to assess the conditions.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “SAVE is shocked and surprised by the level of demolition carried out over the weekend by South Ayrshire Council and the lack of public information about the plans for the future of category B listed Ayr Station Hotel.

"Half of the south gable facing the road appears to have been demolished along with one third of the west elevation of the main building facing the town.

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"We understand that the works currently being undertaken are to make the building safe and to ensure public safety, yet leading conservation engineer Ed Morton – who is cathedrals engineer to Westminster Abbey and 5 other cathedrals in Britain and who carried out the last detailed survey of the station hotel before the fire – informed the council at the beginning of November that in his view the south gable end – which is important for the structural stability of the building – did not have to be demolished in order to re-open the road.

“We have requested South Ayrshire Council urgently make public all the advice and reports relied on to justify the current level of demolition of Ayr Station Hotel, as well as their plans for the remainder of the south wing, the north wing of the hotel which was largely unaffected by the fire, and the ornate glass and steel station canopy."

A South Ayrshire Council Spokesperson said: “The safety works are progressing well and we have opened a footpath on the road bridge.

"These vital works will continue, as our priority is to reopen the bridge for vehicles and work with our partners to get more trains operating from the station.

"The condition of the southern section is being continually assessed and safety works will continue until the building is no longer a danger to the public or the surrounding infrastructure.

"Those working on the site are best placed to assess the condition of the building.”