Scaffolding around the former Parkies store in Dundee city centre has finally been removed after being up for six years.
The scaffolding was erected at the front of the Seagate building after structural defects were identified in November 2018.
This came after a report commissioned by the owners of the nine flats above the store found issues with wall ties serving the front facade of the building.
Dundee-based Valmarshi Properties Ltd – which has since been dissolved – secured planning permission for the flats in 2011.
A meeting was then held with Dundee City Council, where the building owners subsequently provided assurances they would address this matter.
As an interim safety measure, they arranged for a scaffolding to be erected onto the Seagate.
But no action was taken to address the defective facade and the scaffolding remained in place.
Emergency repair work carried out
However, last year it became evident that further distortion was occurring on the front facade.
Dundee City Council then ordered the owners to carry out work to address the issue by serving them a defective building notice.
But this was ignored and the local authority was forced to undertake investigatory works to establish the full extent of the problem.
This subsequently flagged a series of issues which required “immediate attention” – including loose wall mortar and window sills, and defective wall starter systems.
As a result, the local authority had to carry out urgent repairs and additional scaffolding was erected.
The work was carried out under section 29 of the Building (Scotland) Act – legislation that is applicable when it appears a building poses a danger to the public.
Under section 29, DCC can only carry out the minimum work required to protect public safety.
At the time, Dundee City Council’s planning chief Gregor Hamilton the scaffolding would be taken down upon the completion of the repairs.
And pictures taken by The Courier this week show all trace of the structure has now been removed.
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “The council will be getting in touch with owners and residents as soon as possible to update them on developments.”
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