Anger and sadness were expressed by councillors as permission was given in peculiar circumstances for the demolition of a B-listed building in Renfrew that has already taken place.

Consent was granted retrospectively to knock down the Brown Institute in Canal Street this week – despite the fact the iconic landmark has already been flattened because of safety concerns.

A dangerous building notice was served on the property in February, meaning steps to make it safe – either by shoring it up or pulling it down – were required within three months. Renfrewshire Council opted to do the latter.

However, elected members have been left perplexed and frustrated that a special meeting was not called to consider the issue in advance of demolition.

Councillor Kenny MacLaren, an SNP representative for Paisley Northwest, told Tuesday’s planning and climate change policy board: “To be honest, I did have a fleeting thought of actually objecting to this proposal just to see what problems it would cause.

“I’ve got serious concerns about how this report came about. Why wasn’t this put before the board before any demolition?

“Why was a special meeting not called to discuss this?

“I really question if senior council officers making decisions like this have heard of the Bowles report over Dargavel, never mind reading it or even understanding it.

“It just seems too often that senior council officers are overstepping the mark and leaving councillors to pick up the pieces afterwards.”

The iconic building, which dated back to 1903, was most recently home to the museum before it relocated to the town hall in 2011.

It had lain vacant in the years since, with the council deciding works to secure it were “prohibitively expensive” and keeping it was not “economically viable”.

Councillor Jim Paterson, board convener and an SNP representative for Renfrew South and Gallowhill, confirmed at no point was a request made for a special meeting.

He added: “I would’ve considered it. Would it have changed the outcome?

“Probably not because it’s a dangerous building notice and demolition probably would’ve been the decision either way.

“But I appreciate the order of events here has made this appear worse than it could’ve been handled anyway.”

Councillor Neill Graham, a Conservative representative for Paisley Northeast and Ralston, described it as a “sad day” as he reflected on the bizarre nature of the situation.

He said: “I find myself in a really weird position where I absolutely agree 100 per cent with everything that Councillor Kenny MacLaren has said today.

“I think a special meeting should have been called for this … I think rightly the board should be pretty angry that this building was left by the council to go into such a dilapidated state in the first place and then to knock it down.

“I think everyone knows it’s been dangerous for quite a while. I don’t accept the fact that there wasn’t enough time for it to be quickly brought to board for a special meeting to be held … It’s a sad day.”

David Love, chief planning officer, said it was his understanding that the issue arose during ongoing monitoring of the building.

He added: “Ultimately, I think it was two parts of the building essentially moving in different directions that caused the dangerous building notice to be served.”

A council spokesperson had explained earlier this year that structural issues meant demolition needed to be carried out to “ensure public safety”.

Listed building consent was granted on Tuesday subject to the condition that an inventory of all architectural materials which have been salvaged is submitted to the planning authority within three months.