Getting things done - Bankmill Road to Rosefield Place #dundeewestend

Michael is pictured in the path from Bankmill Road to Rosefield Place where residents reported dumped foliage at the south end.

There's also some graffiti back on the wall to the west side of the path - disappointing as it was previously all removed at our request.

We raised both issues with our local environment manager who responded helpfully as follows :

"With regard to your below enquiry re Rosefield Place / Bankmill Road. I have contacted Construction Services requesting the graffiti on the wall to be painted over once more.

Our operatives will attend to remove the accumulation that has been dumped behind the railings at Rosefield Place.

It is likely that this will be addressed over a couple of visits in the coming days but we will uplift and remove."

Getting things done - Rosefield Place #dundeewestend

We have received further concerns about the continual mess at the Eurobins in Rosefield Place.   Most are council bins but there is also private contractor provision here.

As well as asking for a clean-up, we have requested a review of bin collection arrangements here as the street near the junction with Blackness Road is regularly a mess.

Getting things done - Rosefield Place and Bankmill Road #dundeewestend

Over a long period we have raised issues around the mess in Rosefield Place and the path to Bankmill Road - mainly around keeping the communal bins in Rosefield Place tidier - some of these are council but some private/commercial - and the graffiti along the path.

We have had assurances about the bins (see photo) - although this needs very regular attention given on-going fly-tipping here and on the graffiti on the wall along the path to Bankmill Road, we have been given the following assurance from our local environment manager :

"I have been in touch with colleagues and we should see some action here in / around 15 days or so to paint over the graffitied wall."

Temporary Traffic Order - Rosefield Place

From the City Council :

Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating Scottish Water mains repair works. The Order is expected to be in force for two weeks from 23 May 2022. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months.

The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Rosefield Place.

Alternative routes will be available via Rosefield Place for its entire length.

Access will be maintained where possible.

No diversion route is required as this road forms a cul-de-sac.

If you have any queries, please contact the Network Management Team, City Development Department, Dundee House, 50 North Lindsay Street, Dundee, DD1 1LS or phone 433082.

Getting things done - Rosefield Place and Bankmill Road #dundeewestend

Following concerns from residents last week about the muddy state of the path that runs from Rosefield Place to Bankmill Road, I took this up with the environment manager for the West End.

I am grateful for his swift action in arranging getting this cleaned up.

Getting things done - Rosefield Place, Rosefield Street and Bankmill Road #dundeewestend

At the request of residents, I have asked the City Council to attend to the following issues in the Rosefield Place, Rosefield Street and Bankmill Road area :

• Rosefield Place to Bankmill Road path – requested that the graffiti pictured below is removed.
• Rosefield Place – requested that a dumped mattress is removed.
• Rosefield Street – requested that the east pavement is thoroughly swept as it badly needs done.

Getting things done : Bankmill Road - Rosefield Place path

Residents have contacted me about the untidy state of the pathway that runs between Bankmill Road and Rosefield Place - see photos below.

I have taken this up with environment management in the council's Neighbourhood Services and requested a tidy up.

Pathway - Bankmill Road to Rosefield Place

I have received complaints from residents that the pathway from Rosefield Place to Bankmill Road is badly overgrown and I have been given assurances by the Housing Department that action is being taken to have this attended to.

The car park/roadway area to the immediate south on Rosefield Place itself is also overgrown (see right) and I have been in touch with the City Council's Road Maintenance Partnership to ascertain who is responsible for tidying this up.

West End graffiti clean up

This morning, along with members of the Community Spirit Action Group, volunteers from Jericho House and Hillcrest Housing Association and City Council Communities Officer, Waste Management and two of my ward colleagues, I participated in another West End graffiti clean up.

At the last clean up, we concentrated on streets in the southern part of the West End, so today, we put our efforts into cleaning up graffiti in the northern part of the ward in Community's Spirit's coverage area, tackling graffiti in streets like Milnbank Road, Lower Pleasance and Rosefield Place.     Here's me in Lower Pleasance earlier this morning!

Waste collection arrangements in Blackness area

Numerous residents in Rosefield Street, Forest Park Road and Forest Park Place have been in contact with me recently regarding the City Council's recent proposal to introduce a wheelie bin collection in parts of these streets.

Although some residents have welcomed the move away from the old 'traditional' polybin collection as it had its problems, many residents are concerned that in some parts of the area, there may be problems with wheelie bins being left out on the street permanently - an on-going issue in streets like Peddie Street, Blackness Street, Hawkhill and parts of Blackness Road, for example.

Both I and the chair of the local community group - Community Spirit - have raised these concerns with the City Council and a representative of the Waste Management Department will be attending the next meeting of Community Spirit to discuss the issue.   It is good to see the department engaging with local residents to discuss the matter.

The Waste Management Department has also advised me :

"We will be monitoring the situation once wheelie bins are introduced. We will allocate one wheelie bin per property and label the bin which will enable us to identify the household should there be an issue regarding bins being left kerbside, outwith collection day. In this instance we can letter households, reminding them of their responsibilites within the scheme. The Environmental Health and Trading Standards Department will be responsible for non-compliance in relation to back areas.

We are consulting with City Development looking at introducing eurobins into Peddie Street. If this goes ahead and proves successsful, we may review the arrangements in Rosefield Street and Forest Park Road should the wheelie bins prove problematic."

Given the concerns that a wheelie bin fire caused in Peddie Street last September, moves to look at alternative collection arrangements here will be welcomed by residents.

Bankmill Road

Although the recent thaw has helped to reduce the extent of icy roads and footpaths across the city, there are still areas causing residents difficulty. 

Residents in Bankmill Road have contacted me about the state of the road and pavements in the street and also in the pathway that runs from the street to Rosefield Place that residents use to get to the Blackness Road shops.

A number of the residents are elderly and the icy paths are causing real problems - one resident with mobility problems has not been out the house in the past five weeks.

I have contacted the City Council about this asking that the winter maintenance team give the area attention as soon as possible.

Rosefield Place

Back in February, I reported that I had spoken with a number of the sheltered housing tenants at Blackness Court about the worn double yellow lines in Rosefield Place. As a result of the yellow markings being so worn, cars park on the pavement edge making it very difficult for elderly folk - especially those on motorised scooters - to get from their homes to the shops.

At that time, the City Council advised me it hoped to repaint them in the Spring, but this has not yet happened - in part because of the rather unusual situation of a world-wide shortage of one of the raw ingredients for the paint that is used for road lining. The Director of City Development has assured me, however, that the council has received shipments of materials in July.

With regard to Rosefield Place, I asked for a specific update from the City Council and have now been advised as follows :

" ...unfortunately due to budget constraints and more recently a shortage of raw materials, the work is still outstanding.

However, on a brighter note, (I am advised) that I will be allocated an extra £100k to spend on line refurbishment during the current financial year. This will clear my backlog of orders and I will be instructing Tayside Contracts to refurbish all outstanding work from financial year 2009/10 before they begin with orders from financial year 2010/11. Therefore, please be assured that the wait is almost over."

Latest news

A few latest updates!

* Blackness Court Sheltered Housing - I have been campaigning for some time to have the footpaths near to the sheltered housing improved. On Friday, along with two residents, I had a useful site visit with a City Council roads inspector who has promised to progress pavement improvements at the Rosefield Place/Blackness Road junction and at the pedestrian crossing used by the sheltered housing residents to cross Blackness Road to get to the Post Office and other local shops.

Residents have also complained that the yellow lines in Rosefield Place are worn and cars park on the pavement edge making it very difficult for elderly folk - especially those on motorised scooters - to get from their homes to the shops. I was pleased to be advised today by the City Development Department as follows : "The lines in Rosefield Place will therefore be refurbished around April/May time along with other long term outstanding orders."

* Council housing allocations policy - Earlier today, I attended a briefing for councillors on council housing allocations policy. I raised questions about the need for a common housing register and co-ordination between housing association and council allocation policies to maximise allocations of housing for people in Dundee on housing waiting lists.

* Hunter Street Parking Project - I met the Head of Transportation today about my concerns regarding this project being delayed. I received an assurance that the project will be revisited in 2012 and, if the business case holds, the project will go ahead, as promised. I am disappointed at the delay, especially given that there was interest from around 8 commercial organisations to the advertisement in the European Journal. The multi-storey car park - immediately adjacent to the University of Dundee campus, would greatly assist parking problems in the area.

I also had the opportunity to discuss community transport with the Head of Transportation. We discussed the future of the Friendly Bus sheltered housing shopping service that I am anxious to see secured for the long term.

* Tay Rail Bridge Disaster 1879 - memorial - I had an excellent meeting with Stuart Morris, son of the Laird of Balgonie, regarding his suggestion of a lasting memorial to the victims of the 1879 rail disaster. We have agreed a route forward and will meet again with a group of supporters of such a memorial in March.

* Surgeries - Two busy surgeries late this afternoon at Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy.

* City Council Meeting - At tonight's City Council committees I welcomed an energy efficiency scheme and made some suggestions about ensuring publicity of these (apparently well-received by all sides) and also commented on proposed waiting restrictions in the area around Harris Academy - these will now be subject to public consultation.

Bankmill Road - Rosefield Place

The pedestrian walkway between Bankmill Road and Rosefield Place is well used by local residents but a number of them have recently complained to me about its maintenance (or lack of it as the photo below indicates!)

I have contacted the City Council on residents' behalf seeking clarification about maintenance arrangements and have also asked for the pathway to be tidied.

Blackness Road - pedestrian safety concerns

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of meeting with two residents of Blackness Court, the sheltered housing complex at the east end of Blackness Road.

The residents showed me their concerns about the condition of the pavement east of their homes - on the north side of Blackness Road, at the road junction with Rosefield Place and on the road at the pedestrian crossing immediately west of that. The photo (right) is of the poor road condition at the crossing.

The current condition of the road and pavement causes difficulties for the elderly folk in Blackness Court to get safely to the Post Office and shops on the south side of Blackness Road. One of the residents has had a bad fall and another had difficulties getting to the shops on his mobility scooter.

I have raised these concerns with the City Council's City Development Department and asked for repairs to be undertaken.

Pavement condition complaints

I recently raised residents' complaints about the condition of the south side footpath on Perth Road - between Thomson Street & Step Row. I have had the following feedback from the City Council :

"The area inspector checked this section of footway on the south side of Perth Road between Thomson Street and Step Row and noted a small number of areas where the footway surface was in less than perfect condition however these areas are too shallow to fill with temporary material. In the short term he will continue to inspect this footway on a regular basis and monitor its condition. It has been provisionally included in a future (not this financial year) programme of improvement works although this is subject to change dependant on funding and its ranking in terms of deterioration compared with all other footways included in the annual inspection to assess condition."

I have written back saying "I am concerned that the pavement is being left and only being monitored at this time, particularly the usage by elderly people from the Paton’s Lane and Seafield Lane sheltered housing complexes" and pressing for assurances about resurfacing.

I have also received assurances about pavement repairs on Perth Road east of the Invercarse Hotel (north side) and have raised residents' complaints about pavement condition on parts of Seafield Road and on Blackness Road (north side around Rosefield Street and Rosefield Place).

Pathway from Rosefield Place and Bankmill Road

Pleased to advise that the City Council has removed graffiti from the walls here, following my passing on residents' complaints.