Accident fears over house plan

RESIDENTS in a Dundee culde-sac have labelled a development they have been fighting for two years as a potential “accident waiting to happen”.

Householders in Gotterstone Drive were left bemused by a planning application for a plot of land most title deeds said was public space in the middle of their street.

In the past, it has been used for jubilee celebrations but in fact, permission in principle existed to build a single house there.

The plan was initially rejected by the council’s development management committee in May 2016, but permission was granted by the Scottish Government on appeal and finally passed — on a 15-11 vote — by the council this week.

Hazel Smith, who has lived i n Gotterstone Drive for more than 40 years, said: “We have been fighting this for two years.

“What we can’t understand is that ground has been vacant for at least 46 years and people did not know it was allocated to one house.

“The council looked after it for years and the deeds say it’s public space.

“It’s going to create a blind corner. We are a community that looks out for each other and this will change that. It will create a hiding space for people who are up to no good. It could be an accident waiting to happen if drivers don’t see kids running and playing.

“When it’s all done, it’s going to ruin our views. Everyone in the cul-de-sac objected to the house being built there, but we’ve been ignored.

“Someone should come out here between eight and nine in the morning or three and four in the afternoon to see how many cars park here for the kids at school.

“What are they going to do when all the construction vehicles are here?”

“And all the deeds are going to have to be changed now if someone wants to sell their house. It’s a bizarre situation,” she added.

Another objector, Laura Black, said she would not have bought her house had she known there was a chance of another being built so close.

“We just feel so deflated because of the fight we put up,” she said.

“We will have a look at the plans to see if there is anything we can object to, but I’m not sure what we can do now.”

The cul-de-sac in Gotterstone Drive.