East End Ward

In addition to my last post, I found out that one family fell within the exlusion zone and my apologies to them for not knowing this. However this brought up an interesting point, if people have to be moved from their houses, what happens to family pets?

I will be speaking to the council to find out what we do in situations with this? With the kennels currently closed (and the rebuild being welcome) this is not an option people could use.

More to follow

Dissapointed to hear of the fire that caused havoc to the Kingsway and surrounding businesses yesterday. Thankfully no one was hurt and through the good work of the Police and Fire Service it is lucky that nothing more serious happened.

I was worried that people may have to be evacuated from the surrounding area and put the housing department on alert once I knew what was happening. Luckily, the houses around the factory were outside the exclusion zone and no one had to be put up in other accomodation for the night.

I've had a response from the owners of the factory assuring me that it is not a forgotten site and that they do take the security if it very seriously but I hate to think what could have happened if this had been a malicious fire.

Both myself and Christina are still calling for the building to be demolished as we believe that this will be the only thing that will solve the problem of this eyesore.

We have been notified that the 1st phase of work to upgrade the Claverhouse junction (Forfar Road) will start on Monday 18th June. Therefore we give advance notice that this can and probably will cause disruption. The work includes deep excavation and will require a lane to be closed for safety reasons whilst this is carried out.

If you can find an alternative route it would certainly be recommended.

Amongst the things in my in tray recently was correspondence relating to the state of the grass verges at Greendykes.

Bear Scotland and the Council have been in dispute over the last few years about who maintains these verges. I spoke to Bear earlier today and have had some assurances that the maintenance of these verges will be looked at. They also appear to admit that they are responsible for the maintenance of these areas after the Council provided them with maps showing that they are in Bear's ownership. I have also asked them too look at the traffic island at the Scott Fyffe roundabouts junction on to Douglas Road. This small piece of land has weeds about a foot and a half high and is very unsightly so hopefully some action soon.

I also received a letter from Sainsburys reference my new obsession with supermarket trollies. From speaking to residents, it is reckoned that there are over 100 of them strewn throughout the area. Sainsburys are more than willing to uplift any of their trollies from the ward if I get in touch with them but still no official contact from Asda. I have had to contact Asda again as on my way home last night spotted 6 trollies just on Ballunie Avenue alone.

Had an interesting communication from a constituent reference postal deliveries in Douglas. I have been informed that mail appears to be going missing and was wondering if anyone else is having the same difficulties.

You can contact me by email at will.dawson@dundeecity.gov.uk and I will be more than happy to look into the situation.

Personally, I tend to get some mis-directed mail i.e. mail delivered to Balunie Avenue rather than Balunie Street.

I have written to the manager of Dundee East Delivery office to see what the current situation is and will give you an update as soon as i get a reply.

The street name signs that I reported recently, the faulty road sign at the Douglas Road/ Happyhillock Road and several signs reported by Christina are to be looked at by the Planning and Transportation department. The response from the department is as follows

"I have been passed copies of e-mails from Councillor Dawson and Councillor Roberts regarding problems with a number of street name plates and traffic signs. I understand that the street name plate issues have already been addressed by my colleague. I have inspected the locations of the traffic sign problems at Douglas Road / Happyhillock Road roundabout and Pitkerro Drive and have arranged to have the defects rectified."

Hopefully see a resolution to these issues soon.

Following todays Courier article and a spot on Tay FM, I have continued to take up the case of the derelict ABB factory on the Kingsway.

To see the full article follow this link

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2007/06/04/newsstory9807224t0.asp

Both myself and Christina are dimayed at the state of the building and are following on from the work previously carried out by John Corrigan in trying to get something done. We are both under the impression that no one wants this building anymore and the longer it stays in it's current condition the less likely anyone will want to move into it.

I have written to ABB and will update the blog when more is known.

Fingers crossed ABB take some notice and live up to their responsibilities

Very distressed about the lack of action being taken by Asda in relation to the trollies littering the ward.

Spotted lots throughout the ward recently and wrote a letter to Asda. After no response I decided it was wise to speak to the press. From the article, assurances appear to have been given that they take this very seriously and go round the area a few times a week looking for rogue trollies.

I believe the store is now under new management and this may have explained the lack of response as the contact we used to have within the store has either moved or left the company.

I will continue to keep an eye on the situation and report these trollies when i find them or they are reported to me.

Currently reporting more and more potholes on the roads within the ward and am becoming increasingly concerned about the state of many of the roads. The roads currently being looked at are Balunie Street, Balbeggie Street, Baluniefield Road and Balantrae Terrace just to name a few.

I will be asking for assurance that these repairs are done in a timely fashion and that the repairs last for more than a few days.

Street signs have also been an issue recently. I have reported a number of different street signs that need replacing or repaired such as Balcarres Terrace and Balmoral Gardens. These have mostly been vandalised but many in the ward are faded and require replacing due to old age.

Glad to report that the housing department have placed work orders to have the back court areas of some of the tenements on Balbeggie Street cleaned up and internal stair lighting repaired.