A multi-million pound plan to redevelop a derelict Blackness Road site has been given the green light.
Councillors on Dundee City Council’s housing committee met on Monday to agree a tender for proposals to build 24 flats at the site once home to a historic tenement block.
The flats at 219 – 245 Blackness Road stood for more than a century but were controversially demolished in spring 2021.
The new development, which is estimated to cost £8.5m, will consist of 24 flats – including six wheelchair-accessible properties.
Under the agreed tender, Dundee City Council will meet over £5.2m of the total cost of the project.
The Scottish Government will also provide £2.3m in funding. However, this is two million less than what the local authority was hoping for.
Council tax income from second homes, which is earmarked to support costs related to affordable homes and reducing the number of empty homes in the city, will meet the rest of the cost of the project,
Work on the development is set to start in August and is projected to be completed by April 2027.
Blackness Road housing plan agreed
Councillors voted to demolish the old tenement block in 2017 after inspectors ruled the traditional rear spiral stairwells at the site – named ‘pletties’ – were deteriorating and could become a risk to the public.
The local authority subsequently unveiled plans to build modern apartments in its place. At the time, the development was estimated to cost £4.5m.
Planning permission for the flats was granted in 2022 but work never commenced.
Councillors welcome progress
During Monday’s meeting, Liberal Democrat councillor Fraser Macpherson said he was “relieved” to see the development progressing.
However, he was critical of the time it has taken for work on the site to begin.
“This has been a long time coming, I think we all accept the pandemic slightly got in the way”, the West End representative said.
“The negative obviously is that construction inflation ran away with itself after the pandemic.
“But it is a relief to see that this gap site will be filled with new council housing, which will be very welcome in an area where there is a lack of council housing and a large waiting list.”
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