New Dundee stadium masterplan put forward as Camperdown training facility axed

The Dark Blues are awaiting a decision on a planning in principle application they submitted to Dundee City Council in February.

By Laura Devlin

September 10 2024, 6:00am

A concourse outside the stadium. Image: Holmes Miller Architects.

Dundee FC have scrapped plans to build a training facility at Camperdown Park as a fresh stadium masterplan was submitted.

The Dark Blues are awaiting a decision on a planning in principle application they submitted to Dundee City Council in February.

Under the original proposals, Dee hoped to build a training centre alongside a 12,500-capacity stadium.

The facility was earmarked for unused land at Camperdown and was the only part of the development that would be built inside the park.

But the plans prompted concerns from the Dundee Civic Trust (DCT) who flagged a decades-old planning law to council chiefs.

The original masterplan of the stadium site, with the training centre proposed to the left. Image: Holmes Miller/Dundee FC.

The updated Camperdown masterplan. Image: Holmes Miller/Dundee FC.

Passed in 1990, the act relates to the ownership and management of Camperdown Estate.

DCT claimed, under the legislation, Dundee City Council may not have the power to allow the development to take place.

Riverside training plans

However, in August, a separate application was lodged with the local authority by the Dundee FC Community Trust seeking permission for a training centre at Riverside.

It will provide training space for youth teams across the city and will also be available for the first-team to use.

Dundee believe the need for a training area at Camperdown as part of the stadium project would be negated should the proposal be approved.

An image of Dundee's planned new stadium at Camperdown Park. Image: Holmes Miller Architects. .. George Cran/DCT Media Date; 20/08/2024 — An image of Dundee’s planned new stadium at Camperdown Park. Image: Holmes Miller Architects.

Now a fresh masterplan has been tabled, removing the training facility from the Camperdown proposals.

It’s understood this removes more than 80% of the objections raised in the public consultation process, with the club cooperating with the council’s planning department throughout.

In a frequently asked questions section on Dundee’s website, club chiefs John Nelms and Tim Keyes added the amendment would “enhance the Camperdown project by reducing the development’s footprint”.

Dundee FC waiting on council decision

Dundee believed a decision on the planning in permission application would be made by the council’s planning committee in August.

But the local authority sought more information from club chiefs so officers could “properly consider” the plans.

The Camperdown stadium proposals were also omitted from the September meeting of the committee, meaning a decision may not be heard until at least November.