A demolition company has been helping long-term unemployed people back into work as part of a council contract to tear down old school buildings in Dundee.
Central Demolition was awarded three contracts by Dundee City Council: the scientific services building on Mains Loan, St Vincent Primary School and Longhaugh Primary School.
The scientific building has become a target for vandals since it fell into disuse.
The company is also tearing down the former Tesco Distribution Centre building, on Baird Avenue.
The site was taken on by Clowes Development late in 2017, with a spokesman for the firm hinting in February last year that a car dealership could move in.
However, another spokesman said yesterday they are “open to all enquiries” and that no application is at an “advanced stage”.
He said: “At the moment the important thing is getting the building down. The demolition was stalled for technical reasons but it started last week.
“We are going to keep two of the Tesco gable ends up so there are units are available.”
One of the conditions the local authority insisted on as part of the school contracts with Central Demolition was that the company would take part in “social benefits”, which the firms marketing manager Chelsea Tulloch said they are more than happy to do.
She said: “We have 200 full-time employees so we are a small-to-medium company, but we’re big enough that we can take on that sort of thing.
“All the new guys have been through asbestos training and seem to have been enjoying the work. There has not been any issues so far, and it really helps people who have been long-term unemployed.
“We might even consider taking people on permanently if they do well enough, so it shows we are doing some really good work in places like Dundee.”
While the contracts were all granted on the same day, the starting dates of the jobs are staggered. The St Vincents demolition has begun, but when the other buildings will be torn down is yet to be determined.
The primary schools have been replaced by a new complex last year and the old buildings will be flattened to make way for social housing.
The demolition work will be done to the extent that the ground will be ready for developers to start their work and all asbestos will removed safely.
