Plans submitted to regenerate derelict Dens Road Market site into new housing
- Andrew Batchelor
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
Plans have been lodged with Dundee City Council to bring the long-derelict Dens Road Market site back into use through the creation of a new housing development comprising of 44 homes.
The application proposes the redevelopment of the vacant site into a mixed residential neighbourhood featuring 32 flats, nine townhouses and three terraced homes, creating a total of 44 affordable homes on land that has remained unused for a good number of years.
Planning documents submitted to Dundee City Council show the development would include a mix of three-storey apartment blocks alongside family housing, with landscaped communal areas, private gardens for many of the homes, parking spaces, cycle storage, footpaths and new planting throughout the site.
The submitted site layout also indicates new areas of public realm designed to improve the appearance of the long-vacant plot, with tree planting, soft landscaping and shared outdoor spaces forming part of the proposed development.
Located on Dens Road, the former market has stood derelict for years and has become one of the city's more prominent vacant brownfield sites.
The history of Dens Road Market
Dens Road Market was one of Dundee's best-known indoor markets for more than four decades.
Opening in 1969, it was created after a group of traders relocated from the city's former Greenmarket, which had been displaced by construction linked to the Tay Road Bridge.
The market occupied a former jute mill on Dens Road and quickly became known as "Dundee's Petticoat Lane."
At its peak during the 1970s, the market was home to more than 80 to 100 stalls, selling everything from fresh produce and clothing to furniture, records, household goods and antiques.
It attracted thousands of shoppers each week and was once described as "Scotland's finest indoor market." Sunday became its busiest trading day, drawing crowds from across Dundee and beyond.
However, changing shopping habits and increasing competition from newer shopping centres and retail parks led to a gradual decline. The number of traders steadily fell before the market finally closed in 2013, bringing an end to more than 40 years of trading.
Since its closure, the building has remained vacant and fallen into disrepair, suffering roof collapses, fires and vandalism. Previous redevelopment proposals failed to come to fruition, leaving the site derelict until the latest plans for a 44-home social housing development were submitted to Dundee City Council.
If approved, the proposals would see the site brought back into residential use, helping to deliver additional housing while regenerating an area that has remained undeveloped for a considerable period.
The planning application will now be considered by Dundee City Council before a decision is made.
Residents and other interested parties will have the opportunity to view the plans and submit comments as part of the planning process.
