Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘It’s not through lack of trying it’s empty’
IT’S been described by city councillors as “an eyesore”.
But now, the owner of the graffitihit North Shore House in Dundee Technology Park has hit back — claiming his firm is “doing all it can” to get the building back into use.
The derelict facility in Luna Place has been extensively vandalised, with almost all of its windows smashed and the exterior and interior covered in spray paint and hit by other damage.
The building is the first thing many drivers see as they enter Dundee from the south.
Winston Phair, a director of Bawnmeadows Ltd, which owns the property, said the firm had applied for a change of use. He said despite the security measures that had been put in place, vandals were still accessing the site, and called on police to patrol t he park more regularly.
He said: “I’m based in Northern Ireland, so with the best will in the world, it’s impossible for me to monitor the site all the time.
“We put a security fence around it in May last year, and spent a lot of money on it.
“We’d like to see the police there more often, keeping an eye on it. “When we bought the building, we had hoped to lease it out or sell it, but there just hasn’t been the demand for an office of that size there. Then there was an application made for a car showroom in June. “It’s not through lack of trying that it’s sitting empty.” Mr Phair said that on Friday, groundwork to fill in trenches associated with electrical cabling had been completed, at a cost of about £80,000. He added: “Our plan now is to divide the building into 12 smaller retail units, but again, that’s on the basis of the council giving us the go ahead. I wrote to Councillor Fraser Macpherson to try to get some help and advice when the last application went in, but never heard back.”
Mr Macpherson (inset), whose West End ward includes the Technology Park, previously described the building as being in “a sorry state”, but rejected Mr Phair’s claims that he ignored him.
He said: “There is a strict code of conduct, meaning no councillors can comment on planning applications in private or in public.
“I would encourage Mr Phair to speak to council planning officers about any future applications. I did notice that some work has been done and anything to improve and tidy up the site is to be welcomed.” Our