Dundee City Council’s former housing convener has branded a report recommending the demolition of a block of flats “seriously misleading”.
The 26 homes and a single shop unit, which sit close to St John’s RC Primary School on Blackness Road in the West End, are set to disappear after councillors voted to demolish them in November last year.
A report submitted to Dundee City Council’s neighbourhood services committee on October 30 said the majority of residents favoured demolition of the flats after it was revealed repairing the century-old structures would cost between £880,000 and £1.2 million.
However, former housing convener Jimmy Black, who has previously spoken out against the decision, has now claimed that private tenants’ views were not counted at all — and that a majority of council tenants in the blocks actually opposed demolition.
Following a Freedom of Information request to the city council, he says he received a copy of the report which stated that six private landlords, who do not live there, were counted as “residents”.
He said: “Landlords are not residents.
“The report was simply wrong and seriously misleading, giving the impression that a large majority of the people who live in the blocks were happy to see them destroyed.
“Eight of the flats are privately rented, and we don’t know what those tenants thought because their views were not considered.
“They paid rent — I think they were entitled to a say.”
Flats in numbers 219-245 on the street, originally built in the 1890s at a time when the city was the world’s leading producer of jute textile, have experienced problems with the external rear stairwell in recent years.
Councillors were told the stairs have a maximum five-year lifespan before they become too dangerous to use. Roofs on the block are also subject to persistent leaks.
It is estimated that demolishing and then redeveloping the flats will cost £4.5 million.
Private owners of flats in the block will receive buy backs and associated payments, estimated to cost the council £800,000 in total. There are 10 private properties in the block.
Mr Black added: “Private landlords will walk away from their problems with a total of £640,000 of council tax payers’ money.
“These are private businesses. It’s hardly surprising that they wanted demolition, because they will take that cash away and invest it profitably.
“I think it’s time for a sitting councillor — whether that’s in the West End or anywhere in the city — to stand up and say ‘we’ve made a mistake, let’s look at this again’.”
Peter Menzies, chairman of the West End Community Council, also voiced his disapproval: “We were not consulted about this decision, and we should have been.
“These flats are part of the historic landscape of the city. Tenants came to the community council to tell us how unsatisfactory the consultation process had been.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “The neighbourhood services committee took the decision to demolish the Blackness Road tenements on Monday October 30 2017.”
