Friends of Broughty Ferry Library event

V&A Dundee

Tonight the council’s Policy and Resources Committee considered the outcome of the tendering process for the construction contract for the V&A Dundee and agreed to accept the fixed price tender by BAM Construction Ltd of £76.16 million. When fixtures and fittings, professional fees and contingencies are factored in the total cost comes in at £80.11 million, which is a staggering increase on the initial budget of £45 million.

I made the point at committee that it is important that no further demand is made of the taxpayer and that the revised figure must be the once and for all final cost of the project. I asked about ongoing risk to the council and how secure the external funding for the project is and the cost implication to the council’s revenue budget for financing the additional £6.5 million of capital being provided , which is on top of the money already committed by the council, including the £5 million to the project to help with running costs over its first 10 years of operation.

It was also agreed  there would be a thorough review of the background to this  situation by an independent expert in procurement, and that a project board be set up to oversee the construction phase of the V &A Dundee.

I remain supportive of the project as I believe it will be a principal part of our economy going forward, but it’s imperative that the costs and timescales are kept under control.

Dune system at The Esplanade

The January meeting of Broughty Ferry Community Council was addressed by Dundee City Council’s senior engineer with responsibility for taking forward the council’s flood defence and coastal erosion protection measures along Dundee’s coastline. He spoke about the proposals for the dunes on The Esplanade, which is currently subject of a planning application. A lot of residents from The Esplanade were present and raised a number of issues. The community council felt that a separate public meeting would be helpful to allow people sufficient time to look through drawings and ask questions of the council engineers.

In response to its request a public event will now be held on Wednesday 21 January between 2pm and 8pm at Castle Green Pavilion. As a consequence the public consultation period for commenting on the application is to be extended until Wednesday 4 February at 5pm. Further information in respect of the proposal is available to view on the council’s planning portal.

Community open day

There is a community open day at Grove Academy on Saturday 17th January from 10am-4.30pm, with a range of activities for all ages as listed below.

Update on earlier posts

Telephone box

In respect of the telephone box on Beach Crescent BT has advised me that a full clean and repair of the kiosk will be done as soon as possible. It has also been added to the list of kiosks requiring a repaint and this should be carried out later in the year.

 

Linlathen Road

I have been advised a report is currently being prepared for submission to the City Development Committee which will seek committee approval for the necessary Traffic Regulation Order to reduce the existing 40 mph speed restriction to 30 mph on Linlathen Road.