Plans for 20 new flats in former Angus Council office building

The proposals, lodged by Mayara Agnes, could see the office building Dewar House turned into 20 flats – ranging from studio rooms to three-bedroom flats.

There are also plans to build two semi-detached houses in the property’s old overspill car park.

The block of offices was originally two tenement buildings before being adapted into council offices several years ago – but has now sat derelict for years.

The property was put on the market as part of a money-saving bid to slash the council’s surplus building stock throughout Angus.

Developers hope that the project will breathe new life into the unused building.

In an accompanying statement, architects A.B Rodger & Young Ltd said: “We believe that the proposed flats will be an effective use of the existing derelict building and will offer a range of property sizes and styles.

“We believe that the design has been sympathetic to the conservation area and the nearby listed buildings.

“The proposed building began as tenement buildings and we strongly believe that restoring them back to domestic properties will be highly beneficial.”

The bid will be decided by planning officials in due course.

Dewar House was part of the council’s estate review.

The scheme has seen the council shrink its estate by 32 properties – which have either been returned to town common goods, been leased out, made subject to a successful community asset transfer, or sold off.

The programme has delivered £3.6m of recurring revenue savings since it was started in 2015. It has also generated £1.3m in property sales.

This month saw plans for the possible sale of the council’s flagship HQ building in Forfar also set in motion.

The local authority unveiled plans to market Angus House at Orchardbank Business Park for part lease, full lease or sale for 18 months.

It was revealed that most of the building has sat unused since the pandemic, costing the local authority more than £400,000 a year to run.