Insulation trial bid for Dundee’s oldest housing estate to tackle freezing conditions

Homes on Scotland’s oldest housing estate in Dundee could soon be fitted with insulation after residents reported freezing conditions during winter.

The Logie estate, which opened in 1920, is the oldest in Scotland and is now a conservation area to protect its history.

However this has caused difficulty in improving homes on the estate, including installing external insultation.

It is now hoped new internal insulation techniques can be trialled on an empty property, when one becomes available.

It comes after council tenants reported being unable to keep their homes warm in winter.

Fraser Macpherson, West End councillor and Dundee City Council’s Liberal Democrat group leader, has long been campaigning for internal insulation on the estate.

He said: “The council intended to undertake a trial at one void property with latest internal insulation techniques and, assuming success, move forward with a programme of internal insulation for Logie council tenants.”

A similar trial is already under way in the nearby Tullideph area.

When Mr Macpherson approached council officers for an update, Louise Butchart, head of housing and construction services, said: “Similar to the pilot property at Tullideph, we intend to use the next available void in Logie to trial the solution.

“We are just waiting on a void becoming available and then this pilot will progress alongside Tullideph.”

When will new insulation be installed?

There has been no confirmed date for when work will begin, but Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Crichton suggested considerable work in the area won’t be seen for at least three years.

Mr Crichton said: “It is looking likely that a start on site for the full programme at Logie will be within the 2026/27 financial year.

“We think the tenants at Logie, Corso and Abbotsford have all waited too long for these improvements and we will continue to press the council to programme this as soon as possible.”

Mark Flynn, the council’s neighbourhood regeneration, housing and estate management convener, confirmed that a pilot scheme is being proposed for the Logie estate.

Mr Flynn said: “We are strongly committed to tackling fuel poverty, investing in the city’s housing stock and helping tenants to have homes fit for the demands of the 21st century.

“We are proposing a pilot scheme to introduce new internal insulation solutions within the Tullideph and Logie areas of the city to provide similar energy-efficiency measures within this unique conservation area.”