West coast company Karting Ecosse has launched a last-ditch attempt to open an indoor racetrack in Dundee.
The firm says it will be forced to turn its back on the city if its latest plan falls through.
It has reapplied to open a Fastraxx Karting Arena in an empty warehouse in Myrekirk Road, on Gourdie Industrial Estate.
Despite winning considerable public support, a previous application for the site was rejected by Dundee City Council on the grounds that it did not satisfy the development plan.
The centre would have been the only one of its kind in the city and the council’s refusal to support it provoked a considerable response from our readers.
The council told the company its plans had failed to demonstrate the site was the most suitable for a go-karting centre and to show that there were no other suitable locations available in the city’s leisure parks, the city centre or district centres that could house the arena. There were also concerns that the site was only readily accessible by car.
That rejection was the latest in a series of failed plans for a go-kart arena in Dundee. Though planning approval was granted for a go-kart arena at a site in Forties Road, the company was unable to agree terms with the building’s owners.
It also had to scrap plans for an indoor and outdoor racetrack at a multi-storey car park in Douglasfield when it became clear that cost of making it wind and watertight would be prohibitive.
Karting Ecosse later withdrew an application for an indoor track at a unit in Claypotts after it emerged the site was zoned for industrial use.
The company has employed a planning consultant in a bid to convince the council it has made exhaustive inquiries and the Myrekirk Road site is the only feasible option for its development.
“We, along with James Keiller Estates, have appointed a Glasgow-based planning consultancy to throw a bit more weight on a fresh planning application for Myrekirk Road,” said Karting Ecosse director Ray Hooper.
“If this fails we will be forced to look elsewhere outside Dundee.”
Mr Hooper said the arena would create 20 jobs initially, with the number rising to 30 by its second year in operation.
The firm would likely turn its attention to Aberdeen if it fails in its latest attempt, he continued, adding, “That’s over a year now that we’ve been trying to get properties and planning in Dundee.”
John Kerr, co-director at Karting Ecosse, added: “The application that we’ve submitted answers all of the questions that the planning department had on the first one.
“Finance is there and we’re ready to go but it looks like this will be the final attempt. The building is perfect for what we want and we have karts sourced and prices for race suits, timing systems and things like that.
“We’ve been looking at Dundee for over a year now and everybody that we’ve spoken to has said that this is what the city needs.”