Dark Blues owner Tim Keyes and right-hand man John Nelms have been working on a project for a 12,500 seating arena as part of a bigger development since 2017.
The development’s primary issue has been access, with roads leading off from the busy Kingsway a long-standing problem. In April, Nelms got into a verbal altercation with civil servants about the amount of red tape required to get projects off the ground, saying: “Everybody that’s going through the process in Scotland is frustrated, I think. We’re not unique in that.” The plan has been beset by a number of delays, including an in-principle planning permission application that has been stuck in the system for 18 months.
Everybody I’ve talked to who is doing other projects, not just within the city but within Scotland, they always talk about how the process is long and arduous.
“We’re trying to get things moving along. We’re impatient and want things to happen much quicker.
“We are constantly driving, but we have to respect the process and that’s what we’re doing, to secure the next 100 years for the football club, to do all of these things for the community, to bring another asset to Dundee.”
Transport Scotland have long argued they haven’t been given enough detail to pass the plans as workable.
And after being presented with the latest proposal – put forward by Nelms in conjunction with transport advisers Systra – TS have once again booted it out.
They said: “Transport Scotland notes with concern that the submission currently lacks sufficient detail to demonstrate the potential impacts of the proposed development on the trunk road network.
Noting the observations set out in this and the previously issued responses, and based on the information provided, Transport Scotland are currently unable to support planning application.”
Dark Blue Property Holdings, the company planning to build the stadium Dundee will rent, have ploughed millions into the project already and will now prepare another transport assessment for submission later this month.
Dundee City Council is due to hear their application but have yet to fix a date while the access saga rumbles on.
