A Dundee foodbank that has served its local community for 15 years is to fold after being evicted from its base in Mill o’ Mains by the city council.
Organisers of the MoM Pavilion Foodbank have received a final eviction notice from Dundee City Council, giving them four weeks to clear their base at the sheltered housing complex in Foula Terrace.
The letter, dated March 14, says the eviction notice starts on March 18 – giving the group until April 18 to move out.
The group began using the sheltered housing centre for their foodbank after the Mill o’ Mains pavilion was destroyed in a fire in 2017.
Group given four weeks notice
The group was initially given notice to move out of the complex in October 2022.
At the time, organisers said the council’s offer to use the new Mill o’ Mains Community Hub – an extension of the area’s primary school – was a “non-starter” for reasons that included its visible location.
Despite initially fearing it would have to close the foodbank the group continued to operate from the sheltered housing complex.
The latest eviction notice to the group says: “I am writing to give the group four weeks notice to vacate our sheltered housing complex.
“Meaning you will need to remove your goods and items by April 15.”
It continues: “This has been our intention for quite some time now.
“To help you move we offered help to try to secure funding for alternative premises.
“Unfortunately this has not been successful and continuing to use our complex is not tenable.
“I believe the sheltered service has been patient and understanding but we are now at a stage where we want to use the area for a different purpose.”
The letter, from the council’s East District Housing Office, concludes: “I know this will not be the information you will have been hoping for but hope you understand the reasons behind this.”
Anger in the community
MoM Pavilion group member Jim Malone said there is real anger in the community at the eviction.
He added: “The MoM Foodbank has served the community for many years but we will have to close as we no longer have premises from which to operate.
“The MoM Pavilion Group supported the foodbank from the sheltered housing complex on a Tuesday and Friday, regularly feeding up to 40 families in the community.
“The city council has consistently failed to address our main issue which was the lack of premises.
“City councillors approved the rebuild of our pavilion then reneged on its own vote.
“MoM Action Group and the local community raised over £100,000 to provide temporary cabins to facilitate pavilion group activities but the council refused our planning application for permanent accommodation.
“The council saw fit to allow us to continue to provide for foodbank users during the Covid pandemic, but have since continually pressed us to move out of the complex.
“They continued to ask us to move to the MoM PS which we rejected for a variety of reasons including location, the humiliation for community members being seen by their children and other parents using a foodbank.
“All we use is one room. We are a community asset. However, it appears the council will now evict us.”
Dundee City Council: ‘We continue to listen to concerns’
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Dundee City Council has a purpose-built community facility at Mill o’ Mains Primary School which any community group can access.
“Housing and communities teams also explored other alternative options in very close proximity to the sheltered lounge and we continue to listen to any concerns and offer support to the group to help them identify solutions.
“The housing service requires the use of the space in the sheltered complex to facilitate the delivery of activities for our tenants and residents.”
Conversation