A Dundee councillor has said a piece of green land will be turned into a housing development “over his dead body”.
Proposals to sell the piece of land on Bellfield Street were heard in private at a meeting of the City Development committee last week.
However, a decision was deferred after councillors pointed out they had recently committed to using the space as a green space for local residents and visitors to enjoy.
It is understood the land would have been sold to developers who already purchased the site of St Joseph’s Primary School, which sits directly opposite.
West End representative Fraser Macpherson vowed to save the land from being converted into houses.
He said: “The background is very straightforward. Back in December, the Neighbourhood Service committee voted for proposals for environmental improvements which included Hawkhill from Bellfield Street to Hunter Street, which I welcomed.
“That was agreed and I had discussion with environment manager about it. We wanted to improve the vista from the Whitehall Theatre.
“The idea was to improve the look for patrons of the theatre.
“Imagine my surprise having made that decision in December I saw a committee decision to sell the land to a developer who has a plan for where St Joseph’s Primary School is, which is immediately north.
“I’m not going to comment on the planning application, but the proposal before us was for an area of open space to be sold. I was totally against that.”
Mr Macpherson said the council should have realised a decision on the future of the land had already been determined.
He added: “Over my dead body will that ground be sold off. Instead of an improved vista, the view from the theatre would be a wall – the site of a housing development.”
Councillor Richard McCready added that the explanation from the chief executive about the “mix-up” was “not good enough.
He said: “The work on the green space was meant to have been finished by now, yet nothing has been done and the council seems to have forgotten its commitment.
“I asked the chief executive why this has happened, and the response was that there has been a mix-up.
“That’s not good enough – if this commitment has been forgotten that begs the question, what other policies aren’t being fulfilled?”
Councillor McCready added that in a bid to increase transparency, meetings should only be held in private as a last resort.
He said: “I understand that due to business confidentiality some discussions need to be private, but there needs to be a balance to allow the public to stay informed.”
