The depute convener of the council’s development management committee has said plans to build a multi-million pound sport centre in Caird Park were “messed up”.
Councillor Jimmy Black claims there are many things still to “sort” about the proposed Regional Performance Centre for Sport – the redrawn plans and progress report of which will be shown to the policy and resources committee on Monday night.
The development management committee were due to vote on plans on whether to build the RPCS in November, but the proposals were withdrawn at the last minute.
Since then, Dundee FC have pulled out of plans to use the facility as a training centre, resulting in the plans for the centre being redrawn.
The football club announced they were withdrawing several days after the Scottish Government intervened, and demanded Dundee City Council conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment on the site – an action the council were not required to do beforehand.
Mr Black said he will support the plans going forward on Monday night, but will call for pre-determination hearing to be held.
The Coldside Ward representative believes if pre-determination hearings had been carried out on planning applications including Next’s failed bid to build a store on the Kingsway and Aldi’s plans for a store at Myrekirk, then the public might have better understood the council’s decisions.
Councillor Black said: “Whatever the reason for the last minute withdrawal, it has become clear to me that many things about this application were wrong. My opinion is that we did the right thing by withdrawing it. At Monday’s policy and resources committee we have the opportunity to start again.
“I think we, collectively, have messed up this planning application, and as depute convener of development management that causes me pain. I say collectively because there is an all party project board – of which I am not a member – which has overseen the process so far.
“That Board has a duty to get answers to the kind of questions which the objectors have posed, and there is still time. They should also be given full information at every stage.
“I will support the report going forward on Monday night, but I will be arguing for a proper pre-determination hearing to be held. I will also be seeking assurances that all of our processes will be robust and that councillors will be given the financial information they require to make good decisions.
“I thank the objectors for their painstaking work on this. I still support the idea of a RPCS, but let’s get the processes right. They exist for good reasons.”
As well as calling for a pre-determination hearing, Mr Black will call on the committee to consider a pre-application consultation, the environmental impact, potential issues to biodiversity and the Oak Ward wood, and financial implications building the centre might incur.
The Care for Caird group, who have objected to the plans to build the sport centre in Caird Park, will present a delegation to the policy and resources committee on Monday evening.
The development management committee service is responsible for deciding the outcomes for applications for planning permission, listed building consent, conservation area consent, advertisement consent and works to protected trees.
Meanwhile, Labour MSP Jenny Marra called for the RPCS to be built at the “earliest opportunity”.
