The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Skatepark plans rejected for encouraging car use
Plans for a new indoor skatepark in Dundee have been rejected by the council. Skaters Lewis Allan, 23, and Scott Young, 25, began surveying the interest in a new wheeled sports park earlier this year.
They applied in March to convert an old warehouse in Dryburgh Industrial Estate.
However, plans for Passion Park have been rejected by Dundee City Council.
The planning committee said the location of the park would encourage car use and was earmarked for business, not leisure.
However the Dundee skaters still hope to secure the space for locals and say they have appealed the decision.
Lewis said: “It was certainly disappointing news for us when we were informed that the application would be refused.
“Despite the setback from the refusal, we are still determined to provide the facility for the local community and still hope to achieve that this year.
“We still believe that this building is most suitable for the skatepark project, therefore we are currently undergoing the appeal process to have the decision reviewed.
“It is a shame that the planning committee deem the location to be unsuitable, but we are still optimistic that the appeal will be successful and we can move forward with the construction of the skatepark at Baird Avenue,” he added.
Plans for the new facility included a street section with movable obstacles, a bowl and a halfpipe recycled from a former skate space.
However, the planning committee said that the proposed location did not prioritise walking, cycling or public transport and encouraged private car use.
In the refusal, the committee said the skatepark had not been “designed to prioritise people over motor vehicles and it is not readily accessible by a choice of transport modes”.
Committee members feared the proposal would generate footfall at an outof-centre location, at odds with the Town Centres First Principle.
The members also pointed out that the proposed location is intended for economic uses rather than leisure.
The space on Baird Avenue was previously occupied by Martin Plant Hire.
The committee blamed the lack of business space available in Dundee, saying the proposed skatepark would result in the loss of employment land.
This is due to the skatepark being a largely leisure-focused proposal, as opposed to a primarily economic development. The development plan seeks to save land on the industrial estate for employment uses.
The decision notice said it had also not been reasonably demonstrated that there are no “sequentially preferable options” available in Dundee for the skatepark.