Traffic junction issue delays Dundee stadium plan

The Camperdown site awaits Dundee FC's arrival

Dundee managing director John Nelms admits delays to the planning process for their new stadium are testing his patience while stressing that agreement with Transport Scotland over the entry and exit to the proposed site is the "last remaining issue".

But Transport Scotland has pointed out that the developer has yet to come up with an acceptable road junction proposal.

The Scottish Premiership club had hoped to be playing in a new multi-functional, 12,500-seat arena, and event campus, in Camperdown to the north of the city as early as this year.

However, after submitting a planning in principle application in February last year, it has yet to be considered by Dundee City Council planners and Nelms and American owner Tim Keyes are resigned to continuing at Dens Park for "at least another two years".

"We have one aspect that is still out there that needs to be heard before the city council can actually hear our proposal in full," Nelms said.

"Transport Scotland is a statutory consultee, so they have to report one way or the other how they feel about their aspect of the project. All of the other aspects of the project have been completed and agreed months ago."

Nelms believes it is a "solvable" issue but wants to meet Transport Scotland as he feels like they have been "talking in circles for a long time".

"I think we are in agreement that the actual junction works and we are working on the finer details, but I am not sure that we need to be working on the finer details just now," he said. "I think we are at planning in principle, so if the junction works in principle, we can work on the finer details at a later date."

Nelms believes 14 months should have been "plenty of time to certainly get a planning in principle through".

He revealed that Dundee have already spent nearly £3m just to get to this stage.

"I am a very patient person, I have been here 12 and a half years, but my patience is not infinite, so it is getting to the point where I think the process needs to be moved on a little bit," Nelms said. "It is very frustrating because we thought we would be built by now."

A Transport Scotland spokesperson told BBC Scotland the agency had raised concerns with the council about the lack of progress being made by the developers and their consultants.

"For clarity, it is the developer's responsibility to promote an access strategy that meets the needs of their proposed development, supported by a robust assessment of its impact on the local and trunk road network," they said.

"Neither of the trunk road junction options proposed in recent months has been shown to be effective and the supporting traffic figures remain open to considerable uncertainty.

"We have repeatedly shown willingness to engage with the developer to address these issues."