A multi-million-pound Dundee development bank-rolled by sports tycoon Mike Ashley could be scrapped after city planners recommended the scheme for refusal.
Sports mogul Ashley’s firm lodged plans for a £5 million development at what was once the Venue nightclub at the Stack Leisure Park in Lochee.
Opening later this year, theproject would secure almost 100 jobs on the site of a nightclub that opened and swiftly closed in the ’90s as the leisure park struggled to thrive.
Planning chiefs will tell thecouncil’s development committee on Monday that the proposals should be refused as they believe they would impact on Lochee’s“district centre”.
They feel while it could be suitable for Dundee city centre, it would not be “an acceptable use at this location in terms of the scale and nature of the retailing proposed”.
The report states that approval would set a precedent for future retail proposals seeking to relocate outwith the city centre andundermine the vibrancy and vitality of the city centre.
The company had planned to open the store by November 25.
A spokesman for site owners TJ Morris said: “We are disappointed but not surprised with thecommittee recommendations.
“However, it will be up to the elected representatives on Monday evening to decide what would be best for Lochee.
“The choice available tocouncillors will be to either leave a vacant and derelict unit or attract significant investment and new jobs to the area.”
Paul Grossi, owner of Grossi’s Dry Cleaners on Lochee High Street, said it would be a blow to the area if the development does not go ahead.
He said: “There are certainly no gyms that I know of on High Street and, to my knowledge, there aren’t any sportswear shops either.
“If businesses see big companies investing in the area then most would think there is business to be done.
“The council is correct in making sure it doesn’t detract from High Street but I don’t see how it can.”