New flats lined up to replace demolished Dundee tenement

Dundee City Council has unveiled its plans for 24 new flats to replace historic flats on Blackness Road.The local authority demolished the 26 properties which made up 219-245 Blackness Road earlier this year after a compulsory purchase order (CPO) was granted in 2019.Originally built in the 1890s during the city’s heyday as a jute giant, sixteen of the flats were council-owned with the remainder owned privately.The new homes will be made up of 18 two-bedroom flats and six one-bedroom flats that will be wheelchair-accessible.The total cost of the project is an estimated £4.5 million.A council report which recommended the demolition of the flats was criticised by campaigners who said it was “seriously misleading” and highlighted a lack of consultation among the affected tenants.Former housing convener Jimmy Black, who led calls for the local authority to reconsider its decision, had argued that the cost of repairing the stairwells, which has been put at between £880,000 and £1.2m, is preferable and cheaper than spending £4.5m to demolish the tenements down and rebuild on the site.Mr Black also questioned a council report which recommended the demolition as “seriously misleading” and highlighting a lack of consultation among the affected tenants.Anne Rendall, convener of neighbourhood services, then conceded that the council “should probably have consulted” the Dundee Federation of Tenants Associations (DFTA) over the decision.