Ambitious plans which will see substantial investment to rejuvenate an empty retail outlet have been given the green light say garden centre giants.
The application submitted by Dobbies for its Monifieth ‘House of Angus’ outlet will see an investment of around £700,000, and the creation of up to 40 jobs.
The site, which is connected to the garden centre via a covered walkway, would be rebranded as an ‘Edinburgh Woollen Mill destination centre’.
The proposed layout will be a traditional department store style, similar to other venues such as House of Bruar, with Edinburgh Woollen Mill as the core brand, retailing a selection of Scottish and themed brands, as well as souvenirs and golf-related clothing and accessories.
Other retailers set to open at the site include Ponden Home, selling homewares and kitchen accessories, Peacocks who specialise in family fashion, fashion label Jaeger, men’s outfitters Austin Reed, and ladies’ clothes retailer Jane Norman.
A café which previously operated in the building is also earmarked to re-open.
The outlet opened in 1999 and saw a number of local and household names trade from the venue including farm shop Gray Retail Ltd, luggage specialist Antler and soap and fragrance manufacturer Arran Aromatics.
However, by the time House of Angus ceased to operate earlier this year, just two firms were trading in the building.
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Monifieth and Sidlaw SNP councillor Beth Whiteside, said: “It was disappointing for everyone in the area when the previous House of Angus retailers vacated the premises, not least for the staff who were employed there at the time.
“It’s never a good look to have empty premises in a retail development, particularly in such a prominent location, and it certainly does not give a positive first impression to visitors.
“The longer the building remains empty, the concern is that it will become more and more difficult to bring it back into use.
“That’s why I welcome the news that there are potentially a number of retailers ready to move into the building.
“Not only will this improve the look of the area and provide more choice for visitors, it should lead to economic benefits for Angus and employment for local residents, so this can only be good news for the Monifieth and Angus in general.”
A Dobbies spokesperson said:“We have received planning consent from Angus Council to transform the existing House of Angus at Dobbies in Dundee. We are working towards having the centre ready to trade over the Christmas season.”
No-one from Angus Council was available to comment.
