A developer has warned that the chance to develop Dundee’s Western Gateway could be lost if its plans for a 228-home village are rejected.
Springfield Properties has lodged a planning application with the city council for the site at South Gray.
It said it hopes to create a “true community” with a variety of sizes and types of family homes, along with a seven-a-side football pitch and extensive green space, that will offer residents a rural feel just a few minutes’ drive from the city.
The project is one of three linked villages with 600 homes that Springfield intend to build at a cost of £150 million, but they have told the council there is limited time to get the project done before it could lose its place in the structure plan that guides where new homes can go.
The company said: “Development of this area has been an aspiration of Dundee City Council for over a decade and despite a great deal of developer interest this has yet to come to fruition.
“The ideology behind Dundee West has, as a result of the inactivity in the area, been questioned by many developers.
“The council are running out of opportunities to make Dundee West a reality and if, at the next plan review, nothing has happened again, will be forced to seek alternatives elsewhere and the opportunity to create a high-quality development within the boundary of Dundee will be lost.”
Since the Western Gateway was proposed, many new homes have been built instead to the east of the city along the A92 corridor.
The council has been keen to switch development to the west, where there are major employers nearby such as Ninewells Hospital and the companies on the technology park and medi-park.
Springfield’s plans would see three new settlements created – South Gray, Swallow Village and Liff South.
South Gray, which lies to the north-west of the Doubletree Hotel, is the first to have a detailed planning application drawn up and the company is proposing a mix of family housing including villas, two and three-bedroom semis and three, four and five-bedroom detached.
Springfield said: “This is a reflection of the public consultation feedback which highlighted that all sizes and types of family accommodation were in demand and that in order to create a true community, a full range of new homes were needed, rather than standard large luxury properties.
“These have largely been designed for this site and have not been constructed elsewhere. The material palette has been chosen to reflect local vernacular.”
A green corridor would run north-south through the site, taking a line from the historic House of Gray towards the steeple of the church in Invergowrie to provide viewpoints for these landmarks.
The southern parts of the application site would be used for public recreation and leisure, with the formation of new footpaths and a cycle route serving South Gray village and connecting to other parts of the Western Gateway.
“A new sports field and open play area are also proposed in this locality. Part of the development will include a village green. These proposed public spaces will all serve to strengthen the feeling of community within South Gray village,” the company said.
The proximity of the development to House of Gray, a mansion created in 1716 for the 10th Lord Gray, has prompted Dundee Civic Trust to call for action to restore it to use after several failed attempts, including plans to turn into flats, a hotel and a restaurant.
The trust said: “This lovely Palladian mansion is on the at risk register of Historic Scotland. Are there any plans that will stop this lovely building continuing in a long slide into total dilapidation?
“The trust would hope that the building will now be considered by the planners as an adjunct to the Western Gateway housing development, which lacks any real community facilities.”