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Dundee council chiefs seek developer for £4.5m Blackness Road housing plan

The site has lain empty since the flats at 219 - 245 Blackness Road were controversially demolished in spring 2021.

The flats on Blackness Road were controversially demolished three years ago. Image: DC Thomson/Dundee City Council.
The flats on Blackness Road were controversially demolished three years ago. Image: DC Thomson/Dundee City Council.

Dundee council chiefs are looking to kickstart a bidding process aimed at securing a cost-effective way of redeveloping a derelict Blackness Road site.

The flats at 219 – 245 Blackness Road, which stood for more than a century, were controversially demolished in spring 2021.

It followed a decision made by councillors in 2017 after safety inspectors ruled the traditional rear spiral stairwells at the site – named ‘pletties’ – were deteriorating and could become as risk to the public.

After the demolition, Dundee City Council (DCC) subsequently unveiled a £4.5m plan to build 24 modern apartments on the site.

These would include 18 two-bedroom flats and six one-bedroom flats that would be wheelchair-accessible.

But despite being granted planning permission in February 2022, work is yet to commence.

Funding challenges facing Blackness Road housing project

This, council chiefs say, is due in part to “unprecedented inflation” and “material and labour shortages” which has pushed costs above the original estimation.

It has also been confirmed DCC will only receive around £2.3m in government funding for the project – two million less than what they were hoping for.

The tenements getting demolished in 2021. Image: Kim Cessford/ DC Thomson.

Councillors are now being asked to approve a “competitive tender process” aimed at securing a contractor to develop the site at “best value”.

A report, which will go before a housing committee on Monday, details a two-stage competitive tender would be the most “advantageous route” to securing a price for the development.

The result of the tender process will then be presented to councillors at a committee meeting scheduled for December.

Design images of proposed flats at Blackness Road. Image: Dundee City Council.

The decision to raze the historic Blackness Road tenement block – instead of repairing the decaying staircases – proved to be be controversial after it was revealed some tenants living in the blocks were not consulted.

Council officials claimed a majority of residents backed the plans but a freedom of information request subsequently revealed six private landlords who do not live there had been counted as “residents”.

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