Transport chiefs have requested more time to consider Dundee FC’s plans for a new stadium at Camperdown Park.
Transport Scotland, the body responsible for the trunk road network across the country, are yet to submit their response to the club’s planning in principle application to the council.
The government agency has also raised several queries with Dee consultants regarding the impact the plans could have on the Kingsway.
A letter seen by The Courier shows, as of July 25, Transport Scotland were still awaiting responses to queries they had lodged.
It added: “We have requested additional time to consider the supporting information and have been liaising with the applicant’s transport consultant on several matters relating to the impact on the trunk road.”
Dundee City Council had been due to make a decision on the stadium plans at a committee meeting on August 12.
However, the determination has been delayed whilst the local authority seeks more information from Dark Blue Property Holdings – the company set up by Tim Keyes and John Nelms to build the club’s new stadium.
New access road proposed
Dundee FC submitted an initial application in February seeking planning permission for a 12,500 seater stadium at Camperdown.
In the application, club chiefs admitted the new facility could result in congestion on the Kingsway on matchdays.
To mitigate this, the Dark Blues want to have an access road directly from the A90 into their new stadium complex at Camperdown.
The new junction would be positioned between the BP petrol station and the Coupar Angus Road roundabout.
Analysis carried out by transport experts Systra determined there would likely be “some localised congestion” on the A90 during most normal matchdays in the hour before kick-off, but this would dissipate before the game started.
Old Firm games, however, would present a bigger challenge and the studies show there could be “high levels of congestion” on the Kingsway as large numbers of Rangers and Celtic fans travel to the site from the west.
This could have a knock-on effect with queues for drivers trying to access the Myrekirk Roundabout from both the east and the south.
Objections lodged against plans
Dundee’s stadium plans have also drawn criticism from the Dundee Civic Trust (DCT), who are concerned about proposed transport measures for the site.
DCT is a voluntary body and charitable trust which aims to encourage the highest standards of design in new buildings and regeneration projects.
Members submitted a formal objection to the plans during the public consultation, saying parking, access to the stadium complex and traffic safety on the Kingsway are all issues to be considered.
DCT say they also wish to respond to Traffic Scotland’s submission when it is eventually lodged.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “As this is a live planning application we cannot be specific about any queries we have raised, although it is not unusual to raise queries or seek additional time to consider supporting information when considering major applications.
“We will respond to Dundee City Council when we are content we are able to provide an informed response on those elements that are within our scope of interest.
“Once our detailed response has been submitted to Dundee City Council, we expect they will post this on the planning portal – as per normal processes to ensure that all information is available to the public.”
Speaking last week, Nelms and Keyes say they will continue to work with the local authority to progress the application as smoothly as possible.
A statement from their company Dark Blue Property Holdings added: “While we are all eager to bring the Camperdown Stadium project to life, we will continue to respect the planning process in the hope that the council observes its stated objective to ‘work with developers to remove barriers’.”
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