A senior council official claims the demolition of a Dundee social club will help mitigate flooding risks at a new ‘super school’ campus.
Fresh concerns emerged about flooding at the £100 million East End Community Campus, under construction on Drumgeith Road, when the site was flooded during Storm Babet.
Pictures taken of the site in October 2023 showed large areas under water due to the Dighty Burn bursting its banks.
However, an independent assessment released this month claimed flood measures at the new school site had “worked as expected”.
This week the council came under fire for leaving Fairfield Social Club, across the road from the new school, to “rot” after it was severely damaged during the storm – with claims the local authority is unwilling to foot a repair bill worth an estimated £300,000.
But now it has emerged cost may not be the only reason the council does not want to repair the building – with a senior official claiming its demolition could help mitigate flooding problems at the school.
An email sent to the Fairfield committee in May by Robert Emmott – the council’s executive director of corporate services – said: “Given the flood risk (at the social club), it is considered that further development of the existing pavilion would be challenging.
“It is unlikely to be possible to guarantee that surface water drainage solutions would be deliverable, or sustainable.
‘Fairfield Social Club removal would reduce flooding risk to East End Community Campus’
“Separately, removal of the existing social club, together with the (unoccupied) residential properties at 80/82 Drumgeith Road would enable the city engineer to work with a much larger flood plain, reducing risk to the local area, including the East End Community Campus car park area, the Drumgeith Pavilion and other downstream development.”
However, when asked to confirm there was a link between knocking down the social club and preventing flooding at the school, a Dundee City Council spokesperson contradicted Mr Emmott.
The spokesperson told us: “Council officers continue to work with the tenant to agree a mutually beneficial outcome.
“Discussions are ongoing. The matter is not related to the construction of the school.”
Steven Rome – SNP councillor for the North East ward and the council’s infrastructure spokesperson – repeated the local authority’s statement when contacted by The Courier.
The council has not responded to a request for further clarity on the matter.
The email exchange between Mr Emmott and Jim Sorrie, from the Fairfield Social Club committee, shows he grew increasingly frustrated with the council for a lack of transparency over plans for the building.
Mr Sorrie – who says he is now resigned to the fact the club will have to move elsewhere – told The Courier: “We are angry that we have received little or no information from the council about the proposals and have been kept completely in the dark.
“There is a lot of disappointment locally that the council has not engaged with us to any great extent over the possibility of repairs to the club.
“We have asked on several occasions over the past eight months for information and clarification about what is happening and we have been told almost nothing.
“Our priority is the future of the club but a proposal by the council that we use a building on Happyhillock Road is not considered suitable by us.”
Councillor Kevin Keenan, leader of the council’s opposition Labour group, says this latest revelation shows the local authority is still worried about potential flooding on the school campus.
He said: “I was previously concerned about the level of flooding that is known to happen there but was told adequate flood protection measures were in place.
“However, following what happened during Storm Babet, it looks as if council officers are having to have a rethink about whether that is correct.
“It looks like we are going to have to prop up flood protection at an additional cost at what is already a £100m development.
“On reflection, it looks like this site wasn’t the best choice.”
When members of the public raised concerns about potential flooding before construction began, the council said: “A variety of mitigation measures will be undertaken prior to, during and after construction of a new building in order to prevent such an issue arising.”
The Courier columnist Steve Finan previously questioned the council’s transparency over the flooding issues at the new school.
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