Dundee Civic Trust is supporting a project to turn half of a historic former industrial site in the city into a hotel but it wants something done about the other half too.
The Lower Dens Works were described by Historic Scotland as one of the finest Victorian symbols in Dundee and date back to the 1820s.
The mills of the Baxter Brothers, the world’s first linen manufacturers, have been placed on the “at risk” register for being in danger of crumbling away through disrepair.
The Regal Property Group of Warwickshire have come forward with a planning application to convert the Bell Mill and North Mill, which share an elevated site overlooking East Port, into a three-star hotel.
They would not touch the Dens and St Roque’s Mills next door, however.
Dr Nutan Subedi, chairman of the civic trust, which cares for the city’s architectural and environmental heritage, said: “We welcome any proposal to bring back into use a listed building, especially one of such scale and prominence as Lower Dens Works, and we support this application in principle.
“Only part of the building complex is involved and we would suggest that the dilapidated condition of the remainder is likely to deter prospective operators of a hotel here, particularly as there is a number of competing hotel development opportunities in and around the waterfront.
“What are the prospects of the remainder of the building being refurbished in the foreseeable future?
“We would submit that any consent granted should be conditional upon the remainder of the building complex and the surroundings being satisfactorily refurbished within a reasonable timescale.”
Dr Subedi said the trust would also be interested to know whether the applicant has a hotel operator lined up to occupy the building if the application is successful.
The Regal Property Group is being represented by JM Architects of Edinburgh in the project, and they have not responded to requests to elaborate on their intentions for the site.
Minor alterations would be carried out on the Category A listed building. Windows and doors would be replaced, there would be a new roof and a new facade would be built on the south side of the North Mill.
A high-level external lift and new lobby access would be added. There would be a gym, a conference room and lounge bar as well as the usual hotel facilities.