EXCLUSIVE: Almost £350k spent at Traveller site near Dundee despite being virtually empty

New figures have revealed how more than £300,000 has been spent on repairs at a Travellers site lying almost empty for five years.

Balmuir Wood, near Tealing on the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen dual carriageway, has recently partially re-opened after a three-month shutdown for yet more repairs.

The site is owned by Angus Council, but managed by Dundee City.

It has 14 pitches – six doubles for larger families who require two caravans per pitch and eight singles. There is also a children’s play area.

And the most recent closure will add to a repair and maintenance bill which has topped £330,000 since 2019.

Balmuir Wood empty for 60% of past five years

In that time the Travelling community has virtually shunned the purpose-built site.

Freedom of information data has shown that it was unoccupied for 17 months of the past 72.

And just one pitch was in use for 44 months – 60% – of that period.

The highest occupancy came during the winter period of 2021/22 when eight caravans pitched up between November and March.

Dundee City Council’s repair and maintenance bill for Balmuir Wood since 2019 is £335,659.

It includes £126k spent on 2022/23.

And the unpopularity of the site comes as figures revealed illegal Traveller encampments are on the rise.

Since the beginning of 2022, a total of 22 have been reported to Dundee City Council.

Of these, only one was reported in 2022, six in 2023 and 15 in 2024.

A number of these were at Balmuir Wood.

Dundee City Council has not been able to say what constitutes an illegal encampment at the Tealing site, or whether those were outside the boundary of the official site.

The authority was also asked about the financial arrangement with Angus Council over the management of Balmuir Wood but did not respond.

Call for moves to encourage Balmuir Wood use

Dundee City Council Liberal Democrat group leader, Bailie Fraser Macpherson said: “I am not at all surprised at the low usage of the Balmuir Wood Travellers’ site as it has suffered from vandalism and had a period of closure during 2024.

“The site has now partially re-opened and I cannot stress enough how important it is that the site fully re-opens as soon as possible, but also that the facilities are far more attractive to encourage use of the site.

“That is the way of minimising unauthorised encampments across Dundee and Angus in the future.”