Recently businesses on the estate have been the subject of dozens of vandal attacks — including serious fires causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage and putting the future of some businesses at risk.

Today Mr Rolfe called on the city council to resolve what he described as “a kind of planning blight” which was preventing a major redevelopment of the substantial area beside Kingsway West.

“There seems to be a belief in the city council’s planning department that they need to keep a stock of industrial land just in case a major manufacturer comes along,” said the chamber chief.

“But I think it’s generally recognised there are just not many footloose manufacturers going to be needing major industrial sites at the moment in western Europe generally, let alone Scotland and then Dundee.

“This kind of development is just not happening and the fact of the matter is that Dunsinane needs to be developed for the benefit of the city and the best way forward would appear to be mixed-use development.

“There is potential for Dunsinane to be a prestigious site for the city, which could be of major benefit to the local economy and also give a very good impression to people coming to the city or passing through along Kingsway. At the moment that is just not happening.”

Mr Rolfe said the chamber had been contacted by member companies with premises at Dunsinane voicing concern about continuing problems they are experiencing with vandalism at the estate.

The chamber’s information was that over the past few months alone there had been between 50 and 60 formal complaints of vandalism made to Tayside Police by such businesses. The vandal attacks had included five serious fires.

The problems seemed to be exacerbated by the fact the nature of the majority of businesses at Dunsinane meant they mostly closed around teatime.

A mixed-use development would help resolve this problem as some businesses would be open later and activity on the site would help to deter vandals.

“I know that Dundee’s boundaries are very tight and the city needs to give careful consideration to land allocation and usage, but the time is ripe for a serious re-think about the future of Dunsinane,” said Mr Rolfe.

The chamber chief said he was concerned that a lack of support for a mix-use redevelopment of Dunsinane was also symptomatic of a “less positive” attitude among city planners towards development in other areas of Dundee as well.

“There seems to be a growing feeling among developers that the attitude in Dundee towards development is less positive than it might have been a few years ago,” he said.

Mr Rolfe said the chamber of commerce was not calling for the introduction of a “laissez-faire” attitude towards planning but the city needs to be progressive in its attitude towards development so it can contribute significantly towards economic growth.

A spokeswoman for Tayside Police said this afternoon the force was aware of a number of reported incidents of vandalism in the industrial estate area and officers do give the area regular attention.

“Tayside Police, together with Tayside Fire Brigade, recently carried out an extensive security review of the area and a special sub-committee of the Neighbourhood Partnership Committee has been established to look at a number of issues,” she added.

Commenting on Mr Rolfe’s plea, a Dundee City Council spokesman said, “Following the public local inquiry into the finalised local plan, the council is moving forward with proposals to work with the private and public sectors in the regeneration of Dunsinane as a significant location for industrial and business uses.”