THE new owner of the former registrar's office in Dunfermline town centre bought it without having set foot in the derelict building.

And Asif Hussain told critics of his plans for 4-8 Abbot Street that prospective buyers have had 15 years to bring it back into use – and haven't done anything.

He told the Press earlier this month that Flawless, a one-stop hair and beauty salon, will move into the ground floor while the upper two floors could become luxury apartments.

Mr Hussain, of King Enterprises, said: "If other people had genuine ideas and plans, they could have bought it at any time over the past two decades.

"For whatever reason, no-one has done anything with it. Would people prefer it lay empty for another 15-20 years?

"This is a business that will provide something different and for those who've suggested we've had government funding or some other kind of financial help, that's totally untrue.

"It is entirely an independent acquisition."

Mr Hussain bought the property for an undisclosed sum 18 months ago and, although it's an historic building in the heart of the town, the interior was anything but appealing after years of neglect.

He smiled: "It's quite a twist in the tale that I bought the building without seeing it. The first half-dozen times I walked round it I thought: 'What have I done?'.

"But it's a property you fall in love with and the views are to die for."

Mr Hussain, who moved to Dunfermline recently, was overseas when informed the property was up for auction and recalled: "I had never set foot in it but I put in an offer as it's a cracking building in a fantastic location and thought something really good could come of it.

"I had no idea then what I would do with it."

A chartered accountant originally from Kirkcaldy, his family has been in the hotels and bar trade for 38 years and he owns The Kings pub in Kelty and a number of other properties in the village.

Turning some long-empty shops into viable businesses again, and converting the old Crown Inn into a salon for Flawless owner Sharon Smith, gave him a new interest in property development.

He explained: "It's not something you go into half-heartedly so I took advice from professional people.

"It has to work. You have to get the right business, in the right place and the right surroundings, and it has to be viable economically.

"We thought about licensed premises, possibly a hotel, a restaurant in that stunning room with the wood carvings, we thought about a lot of different things.

"Being an accountant, I had to look at the cost benefit analysis and thought about the ground floor being commercial and above, what we're looking at is possibly four luxury apartments on the two upper floors."

The Dunfermline Regeneration Trust, formerly Friends of Dunfermline, have long supported the re-use of empty buildings in the town centre.

Spokesman Colin Greenslade said: "It's got to be good news that a vacant building, and one that's been derelict for so long, is going to be used again.

"If they're closed for a long time they become historically vacant, people then forget about them and these buildings become more dilapidated.

"It's brilliant it's going to be a viable building again and it's good to hear there could be accommodation too."