The rundown building, located at the junction with Trades Lane, has sat empty for years after previously operating as an engineering supplies warehouse. Its deteriorating condition and extensive graffiti had made it a well‑known eyesore on one of the city’s key approach roads.

The clearance paves the way for a mixed‑use scheme led by A B Roger & Young, the Brechin‑based architects behind earlier proposals for the site. Dundee City Council approved plans in March 2023 for a block comprising three ground‑floor retail units topped by 28 flats, although the project has a longer planning history: councillors first backed a similar application in 2019 before that consent expired.

The renewed proposal will replace the existing six‑storey corner structure at 28–30 Trades Lane with a seven‑storey new‑build, positioned between the former HSS tool hire store and the old DP&L building.

In their design statement, the architects noted that earlier pre‑application discussions prompted revisions to the building’s scale and massing, including increasing retail ceiling heights to better align with neighbouring properties and removing one storey from the original concept.

Material choices have also been shaped by the surrounding conservation context, with stone proposed at ground level to echo nearby listed buildings, transitioning to a varied palette of grey metal cladding above.

Developers say the project will “bring a new active use to the site, remove an abandoned eyesore and continue with the regeneration of Dundee”. The council’s approval requires work to begin within three years.