Forthcoming Temporary Road Closure of Whinnybrae Broughty Ferry from Monday 31 October 2016

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway resurfacing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Whinnybrae (from Monifieth Road  to Rowanbank Gardens),Broughty Ferry, Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Monday 31st October 2016 for 5 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Monifieth Road/Rowanbank Gardens and reverse.

For further information contact (01382) 433168.

Mike P Galloway
Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Eastern Primary School Redevelopment Stalled

Earlier today, Muirfield Construction went into administration. The workforce of the Dundee based building contractors had reportedly been sent home.

This was really bad news for Muirfield's staff and the workforce of their sub-contractors. It is also bad for the city in that Muirfield Construction are the last remaining major building contractor based in Dundee. 

Residents of Whinny Brae didn't take long to notice that the conversion work on the former Eastern Primary School had abruptly stopped mid week. 

Later on Wednesday, the Directors of TOR Homes, the owners of the former school, issued a statement saying;
that,  
"The Directors of TOR Homes remain fully committed to the redevelopment of the former Eastern Primary School, Broughty Ferry despite losing Muirfield Contracts, the main project contractor, following their recent announcement that they will be going into administration."

The company acquired the vacant Eastern Primary School from Dundee City Council and successfully applied for planning permission to convert this A-listed, Edwardian school into Eastern Residences - 27 luxury apartments.

Paul Millan, Director, TOR Homes, said today:

"To lose our main contractor at the outset of this construction project is a major setback. However, we have been working on our vision for two years and remain 100% committed to completing the project."

"On this week's news it would be premature for us to predict future timescales but we will be working hard to replace our main contractor and will make further announcements on the revised building programme in due course.”

Eastern Primary School: The Big Art Project Film

Back in 2011 Eastern Primary School was preparing to move from Whinny Brae to the former Grove Academy building on Camperdown Street. While the new premises offered more accommodation for the school, after nearly 100 years, there was considerable fondness amongst parents and carers and former pupils for the old school and its distinctive Victorian building. 

While their 'new' school building was being converted and upgraded, a Community Art Project involved the children and staff in designing a public art work that would encapsulate the history of the school and its significant move. The pupils' designs were incorporated in the intricate shapes for the new school gate which can now be seen on Church Street.

Ferry film maker Duncan Nicoll sensitively captured this process on video and produced a thirty minute documentary. While this has been previously shown to pupils, parents and carers at the school, it has now been uploaded to YouTube so that a wider audience can share the experience of the school preparing for the move and designing the 'gate'.

Link Eastern Primary School: The Big Art Project Film

Redundant Road Sign Reported for Removal

A constituent complained to me that it was time the "School" traffic warning sign on Camphill Road at the corner of Dick Street was removed. 

The School to which this referred was Eastern Primary School on Whinny Brae and the school moved to the refurbished 'old' Grove Academy buildings on Camperdown Street just over two years ago.

I have asked the Transportation Department to arrange for the removal of this sign which is unnecessarily cluttering this corner of Camphill Road.

Call for Action to Secure a Sale of the Former Eastern Primary School on Whinny Brae

The former Eastern Primary School Site is still unsold 18 months after it was vacated. The old school building has been marketed as as suitable for conversion into luxury flats with a short row of new build terraced houses fronting onto Rowanbank Gardens. Apart from a flashy sales brochure, there is apparently no progress to report about a sale. This is giving rise to concern among residents that the building will deteriorate and the site will become an eyesore. This would be a poor outcome because the buildings are listed and nationally important for their construction and architectural appearance. 

The lack of a sale is partly a matter of the depressed state of the housing market and partly about the asking price. If the Council want to secure a sale, they will need to be more realistic and, like many property owners are having to do, they should consider cutting the price. 

If they keep hanging out for the original cash amount they thought the sale would raise, they risk wasting council tax payers money on site security and interest payments on loans for other developments that would have otherwise been paid for by the capital receipt from the sale of the former Eastern Primary School buildings. If the site were worth £1 million, the cost of borrowing that amount might be as much as £50,000 per year. 

I have contacted the Director and Convener of City Development to ask that they review the Council strategy on the sale of this site.

Whinny Brae School Site More Difficult to Sell After Budget Changes to VAT

Unfortunately, the sale and the redevelopment of the former Eastern Primary School site looks more unlikely. This gloomy prediction comes about because of a proposal obscured in the small print of the budget from the UK coalition government in March. This proposal will add VAT at the standard rate of 20% to the cost of the conversion and renovation of listed buildings.  The former Eastern Primary School is a grade A listed building and as such its conversion and renovation would, in the past, have been zero rated for VAT. The former school was built in 1911, and its listed status means the exterior cannot be changed and only minor alterations would be permitted inside. Last year the Council produced a planning brief that envisaged the old school buildings being converted into housing. It was hoped to find a developer willing to redevelop the site without major changes to the existing school building; but no suitable bids have been received. 


This is very disappointing news. Its disappointing because adding VAT will make the cost of conversion more expensive and therefore in a time when the local housing market is flat, the sale and redevelopment of the school seems a more remote possibility. I know residents will be concerned that long delays may mean these empty buildings deteriorate and become a target for vandals. It's disappointing for the Council too because a substantial sum was anticipated from the sale of the site when the school moved out and this will affect other projects in the capital plan.
Unfortunately, this same VAT hike would make similar listed building conversions more expensive, which might tip the balance more in favour of demolition of listed buildings rather than conversion. In a place like Broughty Ferry that would make finding alternative uses for historic buildings such as redundant churches more difficult. 
This budget change, detailed in VAT Addressing borderline anomalies, is subject to a formal period of consultation closing on Friday 4 May. I was keen to ensure that the Council was going to respond to the government. I am relieved to learn from the City Development Department that the Council will be supporting joint responses from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and Historic Scotland about the negative effects of this proposal. 
But I am wondering whether this is enough to turn the tide of public opinion? Apart from encouraging churches and other custodians of listed buildings to make representations, I wonder whether we should emulate Pamela Greener, the wife of the Dean of Wakefield Cathedral, who posted her protest song on YouTube as her way of transmitting her message to George Osborne over his plans for VAT. She performed and recorded her message in the style of a musical hall style ditty in the midst of the building works at the Cathedral.
If that's what it takes, perhaps Mike Marra might oblige and write and perform a distinctly Dundonian message to send to the coalition government at Westminster?