Council chiefs have today admitted they have no "short term" fix for the mess at Ayr's Riverside flats.
We exclusively told yesterday how plans are underway to house Ukrainian refugees in the tower left standing by a blunder at County Buildings.
Officials who gave the go-ahead to demolishing the skyscrapers 12 months ago have now been left to explain how they missed the glaring hurdle on top of one tower.
Giant masts belonging to telecoms firm EE are contracted to stay on top of the block until 2025.
It means plans to replace the former retirement towers with new social housing have had to be ripped up and redrawn.
Red-faced South Ayrshire bosses will now proceed with a scaled down version of the project.
The planned 96-home development on the banks of the river will instead become just 75 units in the shadow of the remaining tower block.
And next week the council will go to the Scottish Government asking for funding to tart up the empty skyscraper - in the hope it can be used to house refugees from Ukraine.
An internal investigation into the farce has already been launched by council top brass, the Ayrshire Post understands.
A South Ayrshire spokesperson said today: "Negotiations regarding the removal of the masts are ongoing with EE.
"We had previously identified an alternative site for the masts and planning had been granted but we have still not managed to get an agreement for the move from EE.
"A decision from EE is unlikely in the short term. Given the current position, we are now looking to progress with plans to build new affordable housing on the available parts of the riverside site.
"The remaining tower block has been stripped back and all asbestos has been removed.
"The block could now be renovated to house refugees, however major external funding would be required to achieve this.
"We are currently exploring this option with the Scottish Government."
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