| Deanscourt Ltd has lodged an appeal against Dundee City Council’s refusal to allow a time extension after its two-year planning consent ran out.
Now, residents have signed a petition supporting the company’s application for a two-year extension.
In June 2008, the Broughty Ferry-based company was granted planning permission for 18 semi-detached houses and an access road on the east side of Gray Street, on the site of industrial units, which formerly housed the removals firm Pickfords.
However, the planning consent was only active for two years. An application for it to be extended was rejected by the council’s development quality committee, on the basis it appeared unlikely the site would be developed in the near future.
Outlining the grounds of appeal on Deanscourt’s behalf, planning consultant Joseph Dagen said the delay was caused by reasons outwith the company’s control, as the financial crisis led to the withdrawal of expected funding.
The two-year extension will allow those financial issues to be resolved, he said. “The proposal would also help the local building industry, which has been badly hit by the recession,” he added.
A letter from Dundee West MP Jim McGovern has also been lodged with the appeal to the Scottish Government.
In it, Mr McGovern asks the appeals directorate to take account of a petition from local residents, who support the plan for housing on the site and expressed opposition to its development for commercial or industrial use.
In its response, the council has asked the directorate to rule Deanscourt’s appeal is incompetent as it has been lodged too late. |
