| The Glasgow-based Coakley Group are keen to press ahead with plans for a £17 million office scheme on the site of the former Low & Bonar headquarters in Faraday Street.
Company boss Tom Coakley, a former professional footballer with Dundee and Clyde, said he was “absolutely delighted” with the response of city planners to the wind turbine idea and was also impressed with their commitment to the environment.
The developer met members of the city council’s planning department and said they reacted positively to the company’s proposal.
If planning permission for a wind turbine is eventually forthcoming, it would be the third such structure in Dundee behind the Michelin turbines, although on a much smaller scale.
Mr Coakley said, “They (the planners) are very open to suggestions and I’ve been inspired by what they had to say.
“I think they are supportive of the idea in principle but obviously there is a lot of work to be done.
“We want to do something for the environment on this site and we have researched the possibility of a wind turbine that would provide electricity to incoming tenants at no cost to them.”
The former Low & Bonar HQ was demolished two years ago in anticipation of the Coakley Group’s office development.
Plans revealed at the time concerned a 75,000 sq. ft. complex of four office blocks and more than 200 parking spaces.
It was hoped that the proposed £17.5 million development would provide employment for up to 700 people.
However, a combination of changing market conditions and Coakley’s focus on its other projects meant the development did not take place.
Now, Mr Coakley said he was “100% committed” to the project and would be giving it his full attention.
“All the developments we are doing have a very green footprint and this one would be no different,” he said.
“This has got to be good for the environment and if prospective tenants don’t have any electricity costs to pay, I can’t see how that can be a negative.”
The Low & Bonar building, known as Bonar House, was built as the company’s international operations HQ in 1981 and opened by the then Scottish Secretary, the late George Younger.
It once provided office accommodation for 60 people but closed when the company switched operations to London.
The building and four-and-a-half acre site were bought in 2004 by the Coakley Group. |
