Drone footage has revealed the extensive damage caused to a derelict Dundee jute mill during a fire this week.
The former Queen Victoria Works on Douglas Street – once deemed the world’s oldest operating jute mill – went up in flames on Monday afternoon.
Fire crews spent 19 hours at the scene, just off Brook Street, with smoke from the blaze visible for miles around.
Now The Courier has filmed exclusive drone footage, showing the damage and the state of disrepair to buildings at the site, which has been empty since 1990.
The site, originally known as Lower Pleasance Mill, began operating in the 1820s.
It was renamed Queen Victoria Works in 1887, the year of the monarch’s golden jubilee.
Between 1894 and 1982, the mill was run by Victoria Spinning Co Ltd, owned latterly by Kilmarnock-based carpet-maker BMK.
Following its collapse, a Dundee-based firm was launched, Victoria Spinning (1982) Ltd.
By 1987, 120 people were employed at the site, mainly producing jute carpet yarn for Axminster and Wilton carpets.
The building was B-listed in 1987, when it was named as the world’s oldest operating jute mill, but it ceased production in 1990..
Recent history of site including student flats plan
According to the Buildings at Risk Register, by 2002, the condition of the buildings on the site had “rapidly deteriorated” due to problems including vandalism.
There were talks about converting the site into housing but these never progressed.
A 2010 survey of the works found there was evidence that floors had collapsed in the tallest section of the mill.
In September of that year The Courier reported how there had been further roof collapses in the mills complex, but a survey of the external walls found it was not a risk to the public.
A draft planning brief for the site was drawn up in April 2013, proposing to transform the site for housing.
Three years later, another inspection found fire damage and a further deterioration in the site’s condition.
In June 2017 an application was lodged with Dundee City Council to demolish the mill and build student flats on the site, but it never went past the initial planning stages – and the company behind those proposals has since been dissolved.
Police have launched an appeal for witnesses as they look into the cause of the latest fire.
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