The company that wants to redevelop a former factory site at Kingsway East has attacked city council planning policies.
I&H Brown is worried that efforts to attract investment in offshore renewable energy may block its plans to build a supermarket, pub/restaurant, coffee drive-thru and offices where the ABB Nitran transformer plant used to be.
It has already lined up Lidl and Marston’s as potential operators of the food store and pub, but it has emerged that talks with the council have run into trouble because the land is not earmarked for retail use in the proposed Dundee local development plan.
The Scottish Government’s planning appeals directorate is responsible for deciding if the plan can go ahead and I&H Brown’s property consultants Ryden have asked for a hearing to sort out the dispute.
Ryden said: “During the discussions the planning authority set out its approach to retention of all employment land in Dundee with a view to ensuring that there will be land available for renewables-related employment opportunities.
“What is of concern is the authority’s acknowledgement that there is no firm timescale associated with the emergence of these opportunities.
“The council advised of a lack of subsidies and technological issues which are seemingly creating significant delays. The council could not advise if or when these matters would be resolved.
“There is also very clearly a distinct lack of clarity over the form and scale that these opportunities might take and the associated land requirements.”
Ryden suggested the directorate hold a hearing on the issue for the council to present “clear evidence” to justify its stance.
An objection has already been lodged to the development plan calling for the former ABB Nitran site to be allowed to host a mixed-use development, partly because it has been vacant for 10 years.
The council said it believed it was necessary to safeguard the site owing to its accessibility from the trunk road network and its proximity to the port, as these meant it could play a role in the development of the offshore renewable energy sector.
A planning officer confirmed that the council had met Perth-based I&H Brown and their agents to discuss the proposed commercial development.
“At the meeting it was acknowledged that it was difficult to provide exact details on the form and scale that the renewables opportunities might take and the associated land requirements at this time.
“However, it was highlighted that progress had been made on renewable energy developments in the city, with an application for planning permission in principle approved subject to conditions in November 2012 for development of a site for mixed manufacturing at Stannergate Road docks.
“It was explained at the meeting that the approach of the proposed plan was to create a supportive business environment and to set out a hierarchy of appropriate and effective economic development areas to support existing employment activity and encourage further growth in key sectors, one of which is the emerging offshore renewable energy sector.”
The planning appeals directorate has not yet announced if I&H Brown’s concerns will be considered by its reporters when they examine the local development plan.