Dykes of Gray - A daft decision

(Jimmy Black is Depute Convener of the Development Management Committee. This is a very long blog ... please stick with it!)

£150 million pounds of investment, 100% local labour and 595 brand new houses. And we turned it down!
To explain, the City Council has been promoting the Western Gateway (behind the Hilton/Swallow Hotel at Dykes of Gray) for many years as a prime location for quality housebuilding. Developers have come and gone, and the credit crunch certainly didn't help.
Then at this week's Development Management Committe we had a proposal from Springfield Properties to invest a huge amount of money, and their confidence, in our city.
Grilled at the committee, they gave good answers to all the questions thrown at them, and it was clear that a considerable amount of preparatory work had been done by the developer and the Council's Planning Department. There were to be shops and a community hall, a village green, a playpark and a football pitch. Roads had already been improved (by the City Council) and the developer would sort out the circle at the Swallow to avoid congestion on the main road into Dundee.
There was capacity for children at Ardler Primary and Baldragon Academy. Baldragon will of course be in a brand new building before long, and Ardler Primary is right in the heart of a very successful and attractive community. There would be a school bus.
And what did we do? We turned down one half of the development. Then one councillor left and another arrived, that changed the voting, and we gave permission for the other half ... the bit without the shops, the hall and the village green.
It's hard to fathom why Bailie Borthwick proposed refusal of both parts of this development, and equally hard to fathom why so many councillors supported him. His reasoning seeemed to be that there was no school planned for the early stages of this development although this might be a possibility later. But building a school to sit empty while the development rolls out makes no sense at all when Dundee is full of schools with plenty of room.
Did some councillors feel that people would decline to buy houses at Dykes of Gray if this was in the Ardler/Baldragon catchment areas? Possibly, but I guess the developer had assessed that risk and still wanted to go ahead. For the record, I have every confidence in those two schools.
Was it the developer? Well Springfield is currently Scottish House Builder of the year for the second year running. They have won the Best Employer and Best Employee Homes for Scotland Awards. They have been Highly Commended in the Apprentice Employer of the Year Award. And in October this year they reported an unprecedented level of sales. So it wasn't the developer.
Springfield recently withdrew from a 200 home project in Rothiemurchus to concentrate on other opportunities in Scotland, one of which was presumably Dykes of Gray. They will be regretting that now. I can only hope they appeal this daftest of daft decisions, win, and build their attractive new village. But I wouldn't blame them if they took their investment elsewhere.

So how do we take decisions at Development Management? All 29 councillors sit on this committee. They must weigh up the evidence before them and take their decision on the night. These decisions are not made in secret by political groups (like many others). At Development Management, councillors must use their own brains.
So they get a carefully prepared and usually fairly long report from the Head of Planning which sets out the facts, the legislation and makes a recommendation.
The report is on paper in black and white, rendering many of the drawings difficult to read. Online versions are available but there are no facilities for councillors to use screens or computers at their desks. At one point during the Dykes of Gray debate the developer was reduced to holding up a small piece of paper and pointing at it to show the councillors where a football pitch was located.
We meet in the City Chambers. The acoustics are dreadful. At one point in the Dykes of Gray debate a councillor had to ask a deputation to speak up as he could not hear her. Anyone chatting to neighbours tends to blot out the speaker as indeed happened at that meeting.
Traditionally developers have been discouraged from"lobbying" councillors, although this is perfectly legal if done correctly. That means it is unusual for us to receive colour presentations which might make it easier for us to see what the developer wants to do. Equally, we seldom receive photographs or other material from deputations in advance of the meeting. Sometimes we get a copy of more detailed information from objectors placed in council lounges which we might notice and look at. We can of course go into the voluminous documents posted online as part of the planning applications. But will all 29 councillors ever have time to look at every one of these? I suspect not.
It's as though emails, pdf files and digital projectors had never been invented.
Members of the public, and developers, can ask to address the Committee for seven minutes to outline their support or opposition to planning applications. Councillors genuinely do listen to the arguments and sometimes change their minds at the meeting, often on the basis of what deputations tell them. That's a good thing, but in the absence of a really good understanding of what a development actually means, we can collectively make big mistakes. As we did over Dykes of Gray.
So what should happen? We should meet in a room where we can hear what's going on. We should  have access to computer terminals. There should be a big screen so that the public can see what's happening. That room is unlikely to be the City Chambers. Who cares? It's the decision which is important, not the venue.
We should positively invite developers and objectors to send us well presented material which will give us time to think about the decisions we are making. That would complement the thorough and professional reports which we receive from planning officers.
And we should consider reducing the size of the Committee to a smaller group of Councillors who would specialise in Development Management and have time to do the job properly. After all, the future shape of the city, millions of pounds of investment and thousands of construction jobs are at stake. It's all just too much of a lottery just now. Time to change.

Plain Language

Insulation for Hilltown homes

Clear communications can help a lot. At last night's council we agreed to insulate houses in several areas, including thirty in the Hilltown Terrace area. We have learned from experience that insulating houses does not simply mean sticking cladding on the outside. Drainpipes have to be moved, cables and ventilators shifted ... in one recent job coal cellars had to be blocked up and covered over. Piles of cladding will appear in gardens.

I urged the Housing Department to ensure that residents are told exactly what we propose to do, and not just at a public meeting. We need to give people clear information they can keep so they can track each stage of the job. As we discovered in Woodlands, failing to satisfy the reasonable but insistent demands of an unhappy owner occupier can use up valuable time and create angst. No-one wants angst!

Rosebank Primary pupils go to the Morgan?

We also need to be clear about changes in our schools. Pupils from Rosebank Primary go to Harris Academy just now, but this could change. There is  a proposal to close Menzieshill High and move pupils to the Harris. Rosebank children would go to the Morgan instead.

I think people living east of the Hilltown will be happier with this than those living to the west. When Harris returns to its new building in the Perth Road it will be a long trip for pupils who could walk to the Morgan in a few minutes. But people living on the west side may not see things this way.

So at last night's Council I asked the Education Department if they would be issuing information in plain language which would help answers the questions of parents about the future education of their children. Here's just some of what I would want to know ...

* when would the change happen?

* is there enough room in the Morgan?

* is the Morgan as good as the Harris?

* does it offer the same subject choice?

* how would my child get there?

* would kids already at Harris stay at Harris?

* would my family be split between schools?

* could I send my child to the Harris anyway? If so, how?

* are kids from outside Dundee taking places at the Harris?

* what is the Morgan's policy on bullying?

* what other options are there instead of doing this?

* is this just about saving money?

* are there educational benefits?

As it happens the Morgan is a very good school in an excellent building. This is not just about saving money, although money would be saved by closing a half empty secondary. I'll leave the Education Department to answer the rest of the questions and I am very confident that they can do so. But it is really important that parents ask the questions and contribute their ideas. Nothing is decided yet.

Fleming Trust ...

Scotland's most efficient landlord, arguably, is Dundee's Fleming Trust. It has no debt, houses which are better than the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, low rent arrears, and generally happy tenants. The Fleming Trust is made up of Dundee's 29 councillors, and the Trust has agreed to upgrade the sheltered housing lounge in Hindmarsh Gardens. This gave me an opportunity to praise the work of the housing managers who run the Trust. Yes, councillors are there to ask questions and point things out, but we should also recognise good work, and say so.

Mark Henderson Centre

Signpost International has left the Hilltown to make way for a new school and community centre, and I am sorry to see them go. The council has helped this international development charity to find a new home in Whitfield, and I think they will make a big contribution there.

The Council last night agreed to knock down their Hilltown home, the Mark Henderson Centre, and I had mixed feelings about this. It was a real community hall where everything happened from Burns Suppers to martial arts to poetry and song to alcohol rehabilitation to legal advice clinics. We still have Grey Lodge, the MaxWell Centre and other facilities and there is a new centre coming, but I'll miss the Mark Henderson Centre. I wish Signpost well in their new base.