“Essential repairs” have been carried out at Paisley’s Kelvin House and a neighbouring building as Renfrewshire Council tries to protect the pair from the elements.

The local authority is trying to find a buyer for the C-listed structure in Marshall’s Lane, alongside a run-down section of the B-listed Forbes Place.

It comes after the council could not come to an agreement with property development company Nixon Blue, previously its preferred bidder, due in part to complexities and costs surrounding retaining the former’s façade.

As part of the remarketing process, the council has commissioned work to make sure the buildings remain both “secure and wind and watertight”, which, it has confirmed, is now complete.

A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Kelvin House and Forbes Place are currently being marketed for sale with the aim of bringing the buildings back into use.

“To support this process, essential repairs have been commissioned to ensure they remain secure and wind and watertight.”

Plans were initially put forward for the full demolition of Kelvin House to pave the way for both the restoration of Forbes Place and the construction of 34 flats in October 2022.

However, councillors expressed their anger at the proposals – which had sparked public opposition in the form of a petition by retired conservation officer Duncan MacIntosh – at the planning and climate change policy board in January 2023.

A fresh idea that suggested knocking down part of Kelvin House – and keeping its façade – then emerged in April of that year but was withdrawn by the council within months after further resistance.

The local authority has now found itself back at the drawing board in recent months as it attempts to sell the site.

Designed by James Steel Maitland, Kelvin House previously housed the council’s social work department but has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years.