A number of city centre roads are reopening following a fire and subsequent demolition work at the former Robertson’s furniture store.
Demolition of Willison House has largely been completed, removing any potential danger to the public, which will allow full reopening of Bank Street and Willison Street including access to the Overgate Car Park from tomorrow morning (THURSDAY).
Mark Flynn convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “I want to put on record my thanks to the multi-agency team who came together so quickly, and efficiently did what needed to be done to make the site safe.
“Being in a prominent position and at the junction of three city centre streets it was important that we got them re-opened as quickly as possible, particularly in the run up to such a crucial time for retailers.”
Malcolm Angus Overgate Centre Manager said: “We would like to thank Dundee City Council and associated partners and sub-contractors for their swift action and hard work over the last two weeks, we can now look forward to welcoming customers back in to our car park.”
While the site is cleared of remaining debris and the attached single storey building also damaged during the fire is demolished, Barrack Street will remain closed to all users between Willison Street and South Ward Road.
After the work is complete the site perimeter will be fenced off and repairs made to footpaths and streetlighting surrounding the former store. This is expected to take up to four weeks.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
