The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Anger at ‘shockingly poor’ consultation on footbridge proposals
Residents in the west end of Dundee have labelled the city council’s consultation process on the proposed new footbridge at Magdalen Green “shockingly poor”, claiming the process has excluded large sections of the local community.
They say many residents in the area are either unaware of the consultation or have not been included in the process, and have reported their concerns to local politicians and to the West End Community Council.
Many local people feel the proposed footbridge is too big and appears more like a “flyover” than a footbridge. The design of the bridge shows it to be more than three times the length of the existing bridge, and both taller and wider than the current construction.
In addition, only one design has been provided by Stantec, despite the council insisting in July 2022 that the consultation process would ensure residents would have input into the design.
West end councillor Fraser Macpherson and Dundee-based MSP Michael Marra say they share the residents’ concerns and have both raised the issues with senior members of the city council.
Gary Langlands, chairperson of West End Community Council, says his members have also expressed concerns over what they term the “flawed” process.
Dundee City Council previously announced plans to replace the existing 70-year-old footbridge over the railway at Magdalen Green and – using finance provided by Sustrans, custodian of the National Cycle Network in Scotland – contracted engineering services company Stantec to oversee the project, including the consultation process.
Mr Langlands said the community council has had a lot of negative comments from members who say the consultation did not provide a true and proper representation of the local community.
“People feel the consultation did not allow for older people who feel excluded from it,” he said.
“Passions are high among residents. There was a workshop in the library and only 13 people were present, which included a cycling group from outwith our area and only four of us from the west end.
“Most people would call it a flyover rather than a bridge. The impact of it is going to be significant for people who use the park.
“West End Community Council has been in touch with council leader John
Alexander added.
These feelings were echoed by Mr Macpherson, who described the process as “shockingly poor”.
“My feelings are that the consultation has been carried out poorly and I think I speak for myself and my ward colleague Michael Crichton on saying that,” Mr Macpherson said.
“What I find astonishing, and I’ve raised this with about it,” he
Gregg Colgan, the chief executive of the council, is that in the current consultation, there has been no public forum whatsoever for members of the community to participate face to face with Stantec.
“What they’ve done is they’ve had workshops with some pre-picked community groups, which had very small attendances because the number of people invited was very small.”
Dundee-based MSP Michael Marra says he has raised similar concerns with senior councillors and has urged them to reengage with the local community over the design of the proposed replacement footbridge.
He said: “It is very clear that so far the council have failed to secure public support for these proposals.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “The public consultation period has now ended and all views have been recorded and will be considered.”