Housing site at former Hilltown multis on show

HILLTOWN locals were g iven t he cha nce to v iew a new housi ng development which will be located on the site of the former multis.

Tours of the Hillcrest Derby Street affordable housing development took place yesterday as part of a larger UK-wide Doors Open initiative.

The event aimed to get people interested in a career in construction.

However, at the event the Tele attended, most people were locals who were keen to grill developers on their plans for the site.

The Derby Street development is being constructed in a £26 million partnership between Hillcrest Housing Association and Dundee City Council.

More than 160 new homes in 26 different styles are to be built on the site.

Eighty of these will be midmarket Hillcrest homes, with the remainder being allocated to those on council housing lists.

Developers were keen to stress the homes will create a new community within the area.

They said extensive landscaping will take place on the site with new trees and street furniture being installed.

The bus stops which have been out of use on Strathmartine Road while work takes place will also be reinstated once work is complete.

Parking was an issue several locals brought up during the tour, with concerns there would be inadequate on-site provision.

Ross Aitchison from Collective Architecture, who designed the project, said: “The ratio of parking provision is one-to-one, meaning each dwelling will have a parking space.”

Charging points for electric vehicles will be readily available on-site.

The final stages of the project will also see the reintroduction of a long-lost street.

Russell Street once crossed through the site until the multistory tenements were built in the late 1960s.

The new street will now be named after suffragette Ethel Moorhead, who spent most of her life in the city.

When asked about the project, Hillcrest director of development David Zwirlein said: “The completion of the brand new high quality affordable homes at Derby Street will represent a considerable investment in an area that has always been popular with its residents.”

Kevin Cordell, convener of neighbourhood services, added: “Working in partnership with Robertson and Hillcrest Housing Association, Derby Street is our largest new-build development currently under way.

“This will be transformational for improving housing conditions and economic regeneration in the Hilltown.”

Reverend Helen Bridger, from the adjacent St Martin’s Episcopal Church, said: “The development is exciting for the local community.

“We look forward to welcoming the new tenants to the area.” Duncan Fraser, from the Hilltown, pictured left, said: “The new housing on offer is great

“It will give people who were living in the multis a chance to move back here.” Work on the site is due to be completed by December 2020.