An application to build a large warehouse the size of the V&A museum at an industrial site in Dundee looks set to be approved next week.
The £17m plan by SSEN Transmission would see the building erected at Claverhouse East Industrial Park, just off Jack Martin Way.
Council officers have studied the proposal and have recommended it to be approved by elected members at the local authority’s planning committee on Monday.
The warehouse would be used to store equipment, infrastructure and materials.
SSEN says it is needed to help the firm operate and develop the high voltage electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland and remote islands.
‘Welcoming and vibrant development’
A report by Gregor Hamilton, the council’s head of planning and economic development, states there are no material considerations to justify refusing the application.
He said: “The layout of the site and position of landscaping and access locations ensures the development provides a welcoming and vibrant development within an established principal economic development area.
“The layout of the site and form of the proposed building responds positively to the sites topography and ensures there is no significant impact on the character or setting of the wider landscape.
“Measures to support the use of sustainable transport are to be provided, and the site will be connected to existing pedestrian and cycle networks.”
Public art and road upgrades needed
Officers advised that a number of conditions should be attached to any approval however.
Among these is a requirement for road upgrades to the roundabout onto the trunk road at Jack Martin Way.
It would also need to incorporate some form of public art as is the case with all developments in Dundee where construction costs are more than £1 million.
Covering an area of 7,817 square metres, the new building nea Mill O Mains would be a fraction under the 8,000 sqm footprint of V&A Dundee.
On the design of the warehouse, Mr Hamilton added: “The proposed warehouse is of a size and form which although large is not overly prominent when viewed from surrounding roads against the backdrop of the city.
“Due to the scale and form of the proposed development, the relative change in site levels to the higher landforms to the north, the proposed development would have no significant impact on the general appearance of this area.”
The opening of the warehouse is not expected to create a significant number of jobs but the firm has plans to create around 400 new roles across the north of Scotland.
One hundred and fifty of these new jobs will be in Perth at its new £15 million office block in the city.
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