Fresh details on plans to demolish the long-standing Kirkton Community Centre have been revealed.
Dundee City Council confirmed last October that the ageing centre would shut and the building be razed to make way for way for a new purpose-built facility.
This will be a partnership between the local authority and the charity which runs the existing facility, Kirkton Community Centre SCIO.
Among the services planned for the new centre is a community post office, cafe, sensory room and retail units available for local businesses to rent.
A community garden with an orchard is also proposed for the site and Strathmartine Community Food Larder will operate from a cabin in the outdoor area.
The existing Kirkton Community Centre has served the area for over 50 years.
Now, a building warrant application has been lodged for demolition.
The application details that the building will be razed down to the existing ground level (EGL) to include floor slab, any foundations and any undercroft.
Any voids created as part of the demolition shall be backfilled using structural fill, suitably graded to match the EGL.
The surrounding hardstandings, footpaths and boundary fences will remain as they are.
The total value of the work is listed on the application as £125,000.
Closure plans controversial
The closure of Kirkton Community Centre has proved to be controversial.
Dundee City Council first agreed to shutter to facility in 2023 and a “community hub” model was planned in its place.
This would have meant St Paul’s Academy and Baldragon Academy being opened to the public to be used as community facilities.
But those running the centre called for a new fit for purpose facility – saying some services offered by the centre are better suited outside of St Paul’s and Baldragon.
And in April last year, the centre was given a stay of execution following a legal challenge by the Govan Law Centre (GLC), a not-for-profit legal practice based in Glasgow.
The community hub model is still expected to go ahead, with Dundee City Council saying the services offered by the new centre will “complement” this.
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