Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
More details of £1.5m Dens project revealed
Chris Airlie, owner of the Arklay Street Mini Mart and the Troll Inn, is the man behind plans to convert the former Dens Road Market into a leisure facility.
The complex is set to include 10-pin bowling, trampolines, slides, a roller glider, a mini-golf course and a cafe — as well as space for eating in and hosting parties.
The proposed development, which covers an approximate area of 0.6 hectares, is located at the junction of Dens Road with Arklay Street.
Mr Airlie, who acquired the site in 2013 and hopes the venture will create about 40 full and part-time jobs, has now lodged plans with Dundee City Council.
It opens up the proposals for public comment and they’re likely to be scrutinised by councillors at a later date.
Mr Airlie hopes the attraction will be in operation from 9am-10pm, seven days a week.
The plans also show that the development would have 28 parking spaces, in the hope that families will travel from far and wide to use the facilities.
Papers lodged with the council also address potential safety concerns about how the building is serviced.
Agreements have been put in place to ensure all vehicles delivering goods or uplifting waste will only enter the site before 9am.
The latest plans replace earlier proposals submitted to the city council.
Mr Airlie has previously said he wants to create the longest roller glider facility — similar to an indoor zip wire — in Europe,
He said he got the idea for the attraction from his children, after constantly being forced to take them out of Dundee for activities.
He told the Tele: “We’re always going to places like Edinburgh and Perth to play centres.
“One day, when my kids saw the building, they said it would be amazing to have something there.
“There’s nothing really spectacular for kids to go to in Dundee and I want this place to provide that for them.”
Dens Road Market opened its doors in 1969, boasting 80 stalls and attracting customers from all over Scotland.
But by 2013, after a gradual decline, the last trader shut up shop and the building has been empty ever since.
MORE details have emerged about a £1.5 million leisure attraction that could be built inside a disused Dundee market.