Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Protest at eviction
Council wants its sheltered housing lounge back
ANGRY residents of one of Dundee’s most deprived areas have gathered to protest at the loss of their foodbank.
Mill o’ Mains Pavilion Foodbank has folded after 15 years after being evicted by the city council from its base in the neighbourhood.
Organisers and residents were joined by trade union representatives yesterday to demonstrate against the decision.
Four weeks ago the organisers received a final eviction notice from Dundee City Council giving them until April 15 to clear their base at the sheltered housing complex in Foula Terrace.
Evelyn Scott, a resident, said: “The foodbank makes a big difference when we are all struggling with the cost of living.
“The money we save from the grocery bill we can use on energy.
“It shouldn’t be ‘heating or eating’, we need this community foodbank.”
Foodbank user Cheryl Kyle says she is disgusted at the local authority’s actions.
She said: “The council doesn’t care about the community here.
“We have zero support, the bus service has gone and they now want to take away the foodbank.”
Foodbank volunteer June Jones added: “The volunteers have given thousands of hours of dedicated service to the people of Mill o’ Mains.
“What’s happening is a disgrace, I’ve been helping for 15 years.
“I’m going to miss the community involvement.”
The group began using the sheltered housing centre for their foodbank after the Mill o’ Mains pavilion was destroyed in a fire in 2017.
The group was initially given notice to move out of the complex in October 2022.
At the time, organisers said the council’s offer to use the new Mill o’ Mains Community Hub – an extension of the area’s primary school – was a “non-starter” for reasons that included its visible location.
That is a stance the group maintains.
MoM Pavilion group member and foodbank volunteer Jim Malone says there continues to be real anger in the community at the eviction.
He said: “Local foodbank users are furious and joined the protest outside the complex.
“The foodbank currently use a 9m x 3m room where foodbank users can access vital food, bathroom and baby commodities for £2 per bag.
“That support is crucial to this community and we quite honestly cannot afford to lose it.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We have been engaging on a regular basis for several years with this group about alternative locations and we have been assisting them to access financial support to help them move.
“They have been offered use of the purpose-built community facility at Mill o’ Mains Primary School, which any community group can access.
“For a number of years, housing and communities teams have also explored other alternative options with the group which are in very close proximity to the sheltered lounge.
“We will continue to listen to any concerns and offer support to the group to help them identify solutions.”
Meanwhile, the spokesperson says the council believe it is no
longer appropriate for the group to be operating out of a lounge in a sheltered housing complex.
They said: “The Housing Service requires the use of the space in the sheltered complex to facilitate the delivery of activities for our tenants and residents.
“The residents of the complex, as do others in the city, pay an additional element of their rent to cover use of the lounge for a wide range of events.”
They added: “The council will continue to offer support and assistance to those residents who require it, and officers will direct them to suitable services.
“It is unfortunate that this protest has gone ahead so close to the homes of more than 100 elderly, and in some cases vulnerable, people.”