Courier News Story

Manchester-based Charles Mainoo, the registered person responsible for the premises, said he hoped the Broughty Ferry building, which was the scene of a spectacular fire a month ago, could be rebuilt from scratch.

However, the insurers, who will decide the fate of the premises, may opt for a major refurbishment.

Mr Mainoo explained, “Once the insurance comes through we will hear if the building needs to be refurbished or demolished.

“We were told it would be roughly six weeks until we found out about the insurance, so we have a few more weeks to wait.

“Of course we would like to rebuild a new home but have to wait until we are given authority from the insurance company. It would obviously be better if it could be rebuilt.”

The blaze which swept through the building broke out in the attic. The alarm was raised only after members of the nearby Broughty Bowling Club saw smoke rising from the roof.

They then helped the 30 residents escape before flames engulfed the rest of the building.

It took 40 firefighters to control the blaze, which is understood to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Mr Mainoo is unsure how much the damage will amount to.

He said, “We don’t know what the cost of the damage will be.

“I’m not an expert and can’t guestimate how much it will be to rebuild or refurbish the building.

“Once we have information from the insurers we hope it will take 12 to 18 months to complete the work.”

After the fire, Dundee City Council’s social work department helped the residents and their families to find longer-term accommodation while Westbay is out of operation.

Mr Mainoo is keen to move all of the residents back into the building once it is finished.

He continued, “We hope to move everyone back if they wish to do so.

“We also had some very good staff working for us so our priority will be to give the jobs back to our previous staff if they want.

“We have kept as many members of staff on as we could, so the majority are still in our employment.”