La Scala saga: Historic Grangemouth landmark goes back on the market for £213,000 after being sold for £55,000

The historic Station Road building was sold at auction on March 30 for £55,000 and Bo’ness and Grangemouth Arts Trust – established to try and preserve the La Scala

– tried to track down the new owners to ask them what their intentions are for the premises.

Then, a matter of days later, the premises was placed on the market once again at a new auction house – Future Property Auctions – for an opening bid price of £213,000 in an auction scheduled to run from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, April 6.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “Just days after the La Scala was sold at auction for £55,000, it is up for sale at auction again with a different auction house and an

opening bid of over £210,000. We don't know what happened to the previous buyers for it to be so quickly posted with another auction house.

"We would ask any developers who are wishing to purchase La Scala this time to think of this – why has it gone up for auction so quickly after being sold on March 30?Is the condition of the La Scala worth that opening bid price?

"We would argue it's more valuable to the community and the heritage of the town than anything else. What price do you put on heritage? How does a building increase in price by nearly 300 per cent in a couple of days.

"If you want rid of the La Scala, do the decent thing and enter into talks with us.”

Last week Bo’ness and Grangemouth Arts Trust ran into a brick wall in its bid to stop the La Scala going up for sale when the former owners refused to enter into talks to stop the sale.

First opened as the Electric Empire Theatre back in 1913, the premises became the La Scala Cinema in 1916, which then closed in 1971 and became an independently operated bingo hall, known as the Carlton Bingo Club, until that too closed in 2006.

Historic Scotland designated the La Scala a Grade C listed building in May 2007.